The Proposal of Buffy Summers
by Salix15
Summary: The long awaited sequel to yes my ego is huge The Courtship of Buffy Summers.  How will Buffy respond to Faith's heart stopping, life altering question?  Will Faith go with her to Illinois?  How will a college lifestyle affect their relationship?
1. My Stolen Moment

"Buffy?" the slightly confused voice barely makes a blip on the blonde's radar. She's too stunned, and too shocked to see anything other then that little ring in the little black box. She can't breathe, she can't talk, and she can't hear anything. All she can do is stare with wide eyes. "Buffy can you hear me?" There's another pause and when Faith lightly shakes Buffy's shoulder it snaps the blonde out of her trace.

She looks up at the brunette, tears are flowing down her cheeks, and her lips are trembling very hard. She has to take a few minutes to compose herself. 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,' she thinks. But these aren't the normal types of 'oh my God's' she usually does. These aren't the passionate mumbles of their love making. These are the frantic space fillers of a person who doesn't even know what to think, let alone verbally communicate with someone else.

"You don't have to answer me right away. I know this is huge and you need to think about it," Faith says and Buffy watches as she closes the box and sets it down on the nightstand. "So just take a couple of days and when you have your answer we'll talk, ok?" She doesn't wait for Buffy to say anything. She leans forward and leaves a small peck on the still trembling pink lips, and then she climbs back out the window, and the only trace of her being here is the little black box mocking Buffy's existence.

'Oh my God,' she thinks and with a trembling hand she reaches out and carefully picks up the little black box. 'It's so small and light, but at the same time it's huge.' She opens up the lid and there's a small snap sound that seems to echo in her room. She just stares at the ring inside and everything else around her seems to melt away. She thinks about Faith's speech, and that look in her eyes when she said those four words. Four words that on their own don't mean much, but when put together create a life changing event.

'Yeah you can say that again.' Four words that on their- 'I didn't mean it literally. Are you trying to make me mad?' No. 'Well you are. This is a huge thing that I need to think about and I can't do that with you being an annoying jackass.' She closes the box and starts to put it back on the nightstand, but then she decides against it. Curiosity wins and she opens up the box and very slowly takes the ring out. She uses her index finger and thumb to hold it by the band, and she swishes it back and forth so that the diamond sparkles in the light. 'It's so beautiful, even if it isn't very big. I wonder what it would look like if….'

She very slowly slips the ring onto her left ring finger, and then holds her hand out flat to get a better look. She gets a small smile on her face at the sight of the ring on her hand. She stands up and rushes over to her full length mirror. She holds her hand up so she can see the reflection of her ring and she likes it even better. It just…fits her. 'The look is just right, the size is just right. She got me the perfect ring,' she thinks and then takes it off. She walks back over to her bed and sits down on the edge.

'But what am I going to do? What are we going to do? I thought we were broken up and then she disappears for three days and comes back to propose. How completely insane is that? I love her so much but I'm only eighteen. I didn't think I would get married until my late twenties, maybe even my early thirties. I'm still a teenager, with school to worry about, and a whole life to plan. Bringing my grades home to my wife so she can be proud of me just doesn't sound right.' She puts the ring back in the box and closes it. She turns off her lamp and lays down in her bed, but all she can do is stare at the little black box.

'Ok, so lets just think about this rationally. Just because she proposed it doesn't mean we have to have a wedding right away. We could wait until after we graduate college. Is she even going to college? Has she given any of this any thought at all or did she just give into some impulse that said the only way to save our relationship is to propose to me? I wish she were here so we can talk about all of this. She didn't give me enough time to recover from the shock. This is just like her. She comes in and makes a big mess and leaves so she can avoid the clean up.'

'Alright, Buffy just calm down. There's no need to talk about her like that. You're just upset because you feel so lost. And why am I talking to myself in third person?' She can't make up her mind. There are just too many questions that she doesn't have the answers to. The only person who can give them to her is Faith. She throws the covers off her body and jumps out of bed. She flicks the lamp on and quietly rushes over to her dresser. She strips of her nightclothes and pulls on some jeans, and socks. Then she puts on a bra, and a shirt, and her sneakers.

There's no time to worry about make-up as she grabs the box off the nightstand, puts her house key, and cell phone in her pocket, and turns out the light. She waits for her eyes to adjust to the darkness so she won't trip over anything. Then she very quietly walks out of her room and looks over at her mother's bedroom door. 'The lights off, that's good. It'll make this whole sneaking out thing much easier.' She tiptoes down the stairs and by the time she reaches the front door her adrenaline is pumping, and her heart is beating wildly. 'I'm just leaving for a little while. I don't understand why I'm acting this way.'

She unlocks the door and opens it up. The air is warm, and there's a gentle breeze lightly moving through the trees, and flowers in front of her house. She doesn't waste any time because she doesn't know where Faith is and she'll have to track her down. 'Or I can just live in this century and use the technology. Track her down? Who do you think I am Sherlock Holmes?' She pulls her cell phone out of her pocket as she walks down the pathway towards the sidewalk. She dials a number she knows by heart and puts the tiny phone up to her ear and listens to the ringing.

"Hello?" 'Wow she sounds tired. I wonder how much sleep she's gotten in the last couple of days,' she thinks as she tries to think of something to say. "B I know it's you, I have caller I.D." 'Ok, so what am I supposed to say? Why didn't I think this through? I need to start coming up with plans before I act, maybe that would help.' She sighs a deep sigh and keeps walking down the sidewalk.

"Faith," she says in a whisper. She can practically feel the other girl tense up on the other line. 'She probably thinks I'm going to tell her no. Well what am I going to tell her?' She doesn't really pay attention as she passes house after house as she heads towards her destination. "Meet me at the park, ok? I need to talk to you, but I don't want to do it over the phone." She can hear shuffling in the background. 'She's probably getting dressed already.'

"Ok, B. I'll be there as soon as I can. Are you gonna be at the tree or the bench?" There are two spots that they always go to whenever they go to the park. There's a certain bench that they would hang out at. It isn't as dirty as the others in the park, and it's a little more secluded then the rest of the benches in the park. The other place they sit and just spend some quiet time together is under the very large oak tree.

"The tree," she says with a little smile on her face. There are many good memories that they made under that tree, and just thinking about them makes her feel a lot less stressed. They say their goodbyes and hang out. Buffy continues to walk down the sidewalks of Sunnydale towards the park. It won't take long to get their and she really can't wait. Even if Faith hurt her, and put her through hell by taking off she really wants to see her again. She wants to be held by the other girl, and feel safe even if it's only for a few minutes.

She rushes over to the park, and when she gets to the tree Faith is already there. A wave of excitement falls over the little blonde. She wants to squeal with joy and run over to the brunette and wrap her up in a big hug, but she can't. She doesn't want to look like a dork, and she isn't too sure if Faith was completely serious about the marriage proposal. 'Sure she said it, but does she really want to marry me?' She walks up to the brunette and she can tell just by looking that Faith is on the verge of a nervous break down. 'Excuse me, they're called major depressive episodes. We've been over this.'

"Hey," she says and tries to sound as casual as possible. Faith nods a little, but she doesn't say anything. 'Wow, she must be really, really nervous.' She fights the urge for as long as possible but eventually it wins. She throws herself at Faith and wraps her arms around the other girl's neck. She presses her body against the brunette's as much as possible. She won't admit how much she's missed feeling the brunette girl's body, but she's willing to let her actions speak the words she won't say.

"Miss me B?" Faith asks with a little chuckle in her voice. She wraps her arms around the blonde's back, and smiles when she feels the other girl nod her head. They share a moment of silence. Both of them forget about all of the problems they've had over the last couple of months. For the moment they're both content to just hold each other, and not say anything at all. It isn't long before the moment passes and Faith starts to get nervous again. She thought Buffy would take a couple days at least to think about what she said. She hadn't been gone for more then an hour before she got that call.

"So what did she wanna talk about?" she asks and it rips the blonde out of the moment. Buffy pulls back from the hug and looks into Faith's dark brown eyes. She wants so badly to get lost in them like she's done a million times before, but she knows that they have more important things to do right now. She takes a step back and suddenly has no idea what she wants to say. 'But I can't just leave her hanging. She looks like she's about to break down or something.'

"I just wanted to see you. You took off and I thought I'd never see you again," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. She looks up at the night sky and is surprised at how large the moon looks. She can see perfectly in the pale light, and she's a little sad that this meeting isn't of the romantic kind. "Do you think we can just forget about all the pressure, and fighting, and decisions, and all the other bullshit, and just be us? I missed you like crazy and I just want to sit with you for a while. Can we do that?"

She watches the other girl mull that over for a minute or two. The silence is definitely getting to her but she isn't letting it show. She isn't going to act impatient because she doesn't want to scare the other girl off. She smiles a very small happy smile when she sees Faith nod her head. She reaches out and holds onto the other girl's very soft hand, and feels relief that the weight of the world is finally off her shoulders. 'It's like I can finally breathe again. I don't want this feeling to go away.'

They sit down under their tree, their backs resting on the cool bark, and their hands are still intertwined. Buffy rests her head on Faith's shoulder, and smiles when Faith starts to gently caress the back of her hand with her thumb. The blonde breathes the other girl in, and opens up her senses to their surroundings. She can hear crickets chirping, and a frog croaking, and a soft breeze dancing with the tree branches. Everything about this moment is perfect, and Buffy more then happy to wallow in the now. It's the future that she's uncertain about, so for tonight that's going to be ignored as she focuses all of her attention on her girl.


	2. My Big Decisions

"I don't want to go home," the leading lady of this story says, and snuggles against the warm body. She smiles when the brunette tightens her grip around her. They've been sitting under the large oak tree in the park all night. Not very many words have been spoken, and they're both happy about it. Words would have completely shattered the moment, and they really wanted to hold onto that moment for as long as they could. As the sun slowly creeps up in the sky, and signs of life start to emerge the blonde knows their moment is over.

"Sorry, babe, but I'm sure your mom is pissed off at me already. I really don't want to add to that anger." 'She's right. Mom is really pissed off at her. I know we both said stupid things and the fight is mostly my fault because I totally ambushed her, but it's a mother's instinct to protect her child,' she thinks and nuzzles Faith's soft neck. 'I don't want to go home because when I go home I have to think about everything, and I don't want to have to make these big decisions by myself, and I know mom isn't going to let Faith come over.'

No more words are said as they sit together under their large oak tree and watch the sun rise above the horizon. 'I love watching the sunrise with her,' she thinks and smiles when she remembers all of the other times they watched the sun come up. Of course all of those other times were after a night of love making. 'God I miss her touch. I wish we could go somewhere and be together that isn't in a public place.' She lifts her head, and leaves a little kiss on Faith's smooth neck. She watches as the other girl gets goosebumps, and she smiles an evil smile.

"Don't start something you don't plan on finishing," Faith says with a little chuckle. Buffy leans back a little so she can look into the other girl's chocolate brown eyes. 'If it were biologically possible to have her babies I'd want them to have her eyes. And her dimples. That would be one very beautiful baby. I wonder what Faith would say if she found out I was thinking about having her baby?' "You have no idea how hard it was to just sit here and no kiss you, or touch you. No idea at all." She shakes her head a little bit, smiles a playful smile.

"Alright, I'll stop," she says and rests her head on Faith's shoulder again. The other girl gives her a little squeeze. 'I could spend the rest of my life in her arms. Well, not all of my life, but I can see myself coming home from a long day's work or something, and curling up in her arms. But we don't have to get married to do that. We can just live together. But we'd have to wait a year to do that.' She sighs a little and nuzzles Faith's neck.

"What happens if I say yes?" Buffy asks and she feels Faith tense up a little bit. She doesn't move from Faith's shoulder because she doesn't know how she'll react if she looks into Faith's eyes right now. "If I say yes are going to move to Illinois with me? I want to be with you so much but I don't think I can handle being away from you for nine months." She tightens her grip on Faith a little at just the thought of being away from the other girl for a long period of time. "That wouldn't be fair for either of us."

"Yeah, I'd go with you," she says and starts to rub Buffy's back again. "My grades aren't good enough to get into a university, so I thought I could get a job, and maybe take some night classes and get an associate degree or something. We can get an apartment together I'm sure your half of the rent would cost just as much as the housing fee for a dorm." 'Actually we can't get an apartment together,' she thinks and sighs a little bit. She feels Faith tense up even more. She gives Faith knee a little squeeze to try and calm her down a little but it does little to help the situation.

"All freshmen are required to live on campus for the first year, so we won't be able to live together until I'm a sophomore." They're quiet for a few minutes and Buffy has no idea what Faith is thinking about, and it's starting to freak her out a little bit. 'Why does this have to be so hard? We used to talk about everything it was never awkward, or weird. How come we can't be like that now?' Faith isn't tensing up like she's thinking about something bad, but she isn't completely relaxed like she's thinking about something they'll both like. She's completely neutral and Buffy's getting a little irritated with it.

"Ok. So I can get a roommate or something, and we can be together when you're not in class, and on the weekends. We'll make it work Buffy, don't worry about it, ok?" She nods her head and allows herself to be comforted by Faith's words. She knows it's going to be harder then that, but for right now she isn't going to let herself worry. She can do that when she goes home. "I know it isn't going to be easy." 'Or we can talk about all this stuff now,' she thinks and sits up so she can look at Faith. "It's going to take a lot work, but I know we're strong enough to last." 'Are we really?'

"I don't want to sound like a bitch, and I'm not trying to make you mad, but trying to get you to talk about it was like pulling teeth, and then you just freaked out on me. If we're going to get married I have to know that we can talk about very serious things without having to force each other to do it." She watches as Faith thinks about her words, and she's glad that the brunette is taking her seriously instead of just brushing her concerns off. She's about to say something else but then Faith finally speaks up.

"I'm sorry about all that shit. I was so afraid I was gonna lose you, and I didn't want to think about it. I'm not so good at opening up and talking to people. I know we've been together for a long time but it's still hard to let you see what I'm really feeling sometimes." Buffy looks into Faith's brown eyes and can see how true that statement is just by all of the emotion swirling in those deep chocolate colored orbs. 'Could you not describe them like that? You're making me hungry.' She smiles a very happy smile and leans forward. She brushes her lips against Faith's and feels very breathless when the other girl kisses her back.

"You're willing to try, and that's all I can ask for," Buffy says and smiles a little more. Faith smiles back, and leaves a little peck on the blonde's lips. They look into each other's eyes for a minute or two before the silence is shattered by the sound of someone running. They look over and see a guy jogging down the path. He doesn't even notice them as he runs on by, and they both roll their eyes a little bit. 'He just had to come and ruin out little bubble. I hate him, I hope he falls.'

"Did you think about when we'd have the wedding?" she asks and the brunette tenses up a little bit. 'Ok, I guess she didn't really think about this part,' she thinks and watches as Faith thinks about it for a minute. 'I guess a lot of this stuff we're going to have to decide together. I can't leave it all up to her, it's too much, and that's unfair. She shifts around a little. She's been sitting still for a few long time and her muscles are getting restless. 'She looks so cute when she's serious,' the blonde thinks and tries as hard as she can to fight the urge to kiss Faith.

"I don't know. I was thinking maybe a year or two after you graduate. That way we can save up, and pay for it ourselves. I know your dad isn't exactly supportive of us, and there's no way my foster parents can afford a wedding, and I don't want to make your mom pay for it. I'd rather it be something we did together, you know? That way it'll be more special." The blonde nods her head, and looks down at the grass slightly wet with the morning dew. Her father not accepting her relationship with Faith as anything more then a passing phase makes her very sad.

"That sounds like a good idea," Buffy says and smiles a little. She tries so hard not to let the fact that her father is a deadbeat get to her but the little girl inside her wants nothing more then to be held by her daddy. 'I can't believe we're having this conversation. We're going to get married. That sounds so weird,' she thinks and rests her head on Faith's shoulder again. "This is real right? I'm not dreaming and we're really talking about spending the rest of our lives together?" She hears Faith chuckle and she can't help but smile too.

"Yeah, it's real." She smiles when she feels Faith leave a little kiss on the top of her head. They're quiet for a few minutes, and while they sit here Buffy can't help but notice Faith's demeanor change a little. She's about to question her on it, but she doesn't get the chance. "Did you bring the ring with you?" Buffy smiles a large, goofy smile and she sits up. She looks into Faiths' big brown eyes and nods her head. She doesn't wait for the other girl to ask before she reaches into her pocket and pulls out the little black box.

She hands it to Faith and smiles a big smile when the box opens with a loud snap. She turns around and leans against Faith. The other girl wraps her arms around the blonde, and rests her chin on Buffy's shoulder. They both look down at the little ring inside the little box, and they're both smiling like idiots. Faith uses her free hand to take the ring out, and sets the box down on the ground by Buffy's knees. She takes Buffy's left ring finger in her own, and lightly rubs the top of her ring finger with her thumb.

Buffy watches with joy as Faith very slowly slides the ring onto her finger. She full relaxes against the brunette girl and everything in this moment is perfect. The gold feel a little cool against her skin and it makes her smile a little. 'It won't be cold for long because I'm never taking this off,' she thinks and watches as Faith slips the ring all the way up her finger as far as it can go. She turns her head to the side and gives her girlfriend- 'No, not my girlfriend, my fiancé.' And leaves a little kiss on her cheek.

"I love you so much." She nuzzles Faith's neck and leaves little kisses all along the warm skin. 'I don't care if she's needy, I'll kiss her if I wanna kiss her,' she thinks and lightly sucks on Faith's pulse point. The brunette wraps her arms around Buffy's stomach and holds on tight. Not tight enough to hurt, but tight enough to fulfill an inner need to hold the blonde close.

"I love you too," she says and Buffy kisses her way down Faith's jaw line until she's at her full lips. The kiss they share is full of heat and passion, and neither of them wants it to end. They break apart eventually for breath, but only enough to breathe. Their lips are still touching, their mouths open, and they're breathing into each other's mouths. It's an odd sensation that they've never had before.

"I need to get you home," Faith's voice is barely above a whisper. Her words tickle the blonde's lips and it makes her let out a small moan. Desire, and need are coursing through her body and it's taking everything she's got not to give into it. Buffy slightly nods her head in agreement. She does need to get home before her mom finds her gone. Neither girl makes a move to get up. Both are content to just sit in each other's arms and revel in the happiness that they're both feeling.


	3. My Sisterly Moment

Buffy Summers walks up the stairs leading towards her house. She's nervous, and a little worried about what her mother is going to say. She was gone for a lot longer then she planned, and she knew her mother and sister would be up by now. 'I'm probably going to be in so much trouble. But hey, I'm eighteen so she can't ground me,' she thinks as she walks up the stairs to the porch and pulls her key from her pocket. Something catches her eye and she looks down at her hand, and sees the ring still on her finger.

'Hmm, better take this off,' she thinks as she very carefully slips it off and puts it in her pocket. 'I know I said I was never going to take it off, but Mom finding out now would ruin the plan.' After another long silence under the tree they came up with a little plan of how they would tell their parents. 'And if Mom finds out now it'll ruin everything.' She opens the door with a little sigh. She doesn't even have enough time to close the door before her mother rushes in from the kitchen. At first the woman looks scared, but then relief washes over her face.

"Oh thank God." 'Well, at least she's happy to see me. Oh wait, nevermind. Here comes the anger.' "Where the hell have you been Buffy? Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?" 'Apparently not,' she thinks and shuts the door. She tries really hard not to sigh. She wants to tell her mother everything that happened, but she can't. It'll ruin absolutely everything if she lets anything slip now. 'I've never been a good liar though. I hope I can make this convincing.'

"I'm sorry. I went for a little walk. I didn't think I would be gone that long. I just needed to clear my head." At the angry look her mother continues to give her, Buffy gets a little mad. "I'm eighteen years old Mom, I can go out for a walk if I want to." Joyce takes a closer look at her daughter's face, and she can see how tired and frustrated the young woman really is. She bites back her anger and her worry, and just focuses on the fact that Buffy is ok.

"I know dear, but next time, just leave a note, ok? Or at least leave your cell phone on. I didn't buy you that thing so you could turn it off when you don't want to be found." Buffy nods her head and yawns a very wide and loud yawn. Joyce rubs her daughter on the back and gives her a little hug. "Why don't you go on upstairs and get some rest? I'll wake you up for lunch, ok?" Buffy nods her head and slowly walks up the stairs. She's tired, and wants to curl up under the covers, but she's happy.

She walks into her room, and she's very happy to be back. 'Not that being with Faith is bad, but I really want to curl up under the covers and sleep for a couple days,' she thinks as she slips her shoes off. She collapses down onto the bed and looks up at the ceiling. She takes a minute to try and clear her mind, but she can't. There are so many thoughts running around making it impossible to fall asleep. She smiles when she remembers the feel of Faith slipping the ring onto her finger. 'I feel so bad that I have to take it off. But it's for the best. If Mom sees it she's going to know it's more then a promise ring.'

'Now, getting to the most important question of them all: am I going to take Faith's last name? Traditionally the wife takes the husband's last name, and Faith is the butcher of the two of us, but that doesn't mean I have to take her last name. Maybe we could keep our last names but just add the Mrs. to them. Or maybe we can do the hyphen thing. Like she could be Mrs. Lane-Summers and I could be Mrs. Summers-Lehane. You know adults never tell you how much thinking is required when planning a wedding. All of these decisions are going to give me a migraine.'

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the little ring. She gently holds it by the band between her index finger and thumb like it's the most delicate thing on the planet. She lightly rocks it back and forth and watches as the light makes the diamond sparkle. She smiles a very soft smile, and looks at the ring, her ring, with admiration. She knows nothing about the quality of diamonds or rings. But to her this is the most precious jewel in the world, and priceless, and nothing is going to take it away from her.

"What's this?" she hears her sister's voice as the ring is snatched out of her hand. 'Fuck! That scared me. I didn't even know she was standing there. Dammit Dawn! She almost gave me a heart attack,' she thinks and sits up in the bed. She watches as her sister inspects her ring like she's trying to determine its value or something. "It's pretty. Where did you get it? I've never seen you wear this before." 'Ok, I can either try as hard as I can to lie my way out of this and she'll tell Mom about it because she's a little snitch. Or I can let her know what's going on and make her promise not to tell. She's good about secrets when she's in on them.'

"If I tell you, you have to swear on your life not to tell anyone," she says in the most serious tone she can muster. "Close the door." She watches as Dawn runs over to the door and closes it as quietly as she can. Then her little sister runs back over to the bed and sits down. Buffy sits up and gently takes the ring out of her sister's hand. She holds it up so both of them can see it, and she smiles when the diamond sparkles in the morning light. "At like two in the morning Faith came in here-"

"Faith's back? When did Faith get back?" Dawn interrupts in a very excited tone. It's not secret that the younger brunette is completely infatuated with the older one. 'Please tell me I wasn't that annoying when I was a kid,' she thinks and tries to be patient. She sighs and Dawn picks up on the frustrated vibe. "Sorry, I'll be quiet." Buffy relaxes, and forces herself to calm down. 'You're just tired. Don't take it out on Dawn.'

"Anyway, Faith climbed through my window a little after I went to bed. She gave this big speech about how she was sorry for just taking off, and for fighting with me. She told me she was just scared she was going to lose me. Then she said that she isn't going to ask me to stay here in Sunnydale. That Northwestern is a great school and I should go." Dawn's facial expression goes from excited to sad at that. The thought of her sister and someone else having sex, and having to see it on a couple of occasions is gross, but she thinks Buffy and Faith make great couple and the thought of them breaking up is a sad one.

"So she got down on one knee," Buffy's smile gets bigger as she remembers everything that Faith did. "She opened up this little black box, and it had this ring inside." She looks at the ring and moves it back and forth, and it sparkles even more. "Then she asked me if she could be apart of my future, and she said 'Buffy Ann Summers will you marry me?'" She's quiet as she watches her sister digest the news. She isn't too sure what to expect, and she's happy, and a little relieved to see her sister excited again. Not to mention sitting on the edge of her seat wanting to hear the rest of the story.

"What happened then? What did you say? What did she say? Come on, don't hold out on me now." 'Wow, I didn't thin she would care so much.' Buffy smiles and tries to hold back the big yawn but it's useless. She watches as her sister shows a lot of patience and she realizes right here and now that Dawnie isn't the little five-year-old pest that follows her around and tattles on her whenever she can. 'Now she's a twelve-year-old little pest who's stating to like boys. When did this happen?'

"Then she told me to take a couple of days to think about it, she kissed me, and she left." Dawn gets this look on her face like 'are you kidding me? That's it?' Buffy can't help but laugh and she sets the little ring down on her bedside table. "I laid here for a while, but I couldn't sleep. I just couldn't stop thinking about everything. So I got up, got dressed, and called her on her phone. We met at the park, and for a while we just held each other. I missed her so much I just wanted to sit there, and have her hold me."

"Awww, you're so cheesy," the pre-teen says with a mischievous smile on her face. Buffy takes the extra pillow she keeps on her bed and throws it at her sister. Dawn catches it and laughs a little bit. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. Ok, so what happened then?" Buffy laughs a little at the girl's impatience, and she sighs. Her eyelids feel like they're going to drop, and she isn't sure if she can keep going with the story. 'But I have to try or she'll keep bugging me until I tell her.'

"We talked about some things. Whether or not she's going to go with me to Northwestern, and if she's going to go school, when we're going to married if I said yes, and things like that. I thought getting her to talk about it was going to be hard because she was so…stubborn about talking before, but she's grown up a lot in the last couple of days. Anyway, we talked about a few of the details, I don't want to explain it all now, but I said yes." Dawn lets out a very high pitched squeal and Buffy swears her ears are bleeding. The pre-teen throws herself onto her older sister and hugs her for all she's worth.

"This is so cool! Faith's going to be my sister-in-law!" 'Yes, we're all thrilled about that. No, 'hey this is so cool because my big sister has found someone to love for the rest of her life'. No it's none of that. It's always about Faith with her. Wait a minute, am I jealous? Oh my God, I'm jealous of Faith. Ok, I need to calm down before this gets completely out of hand. How long have I been jealous of Faith? Ok, don't obsess or you'll drive yourself insane.' "So when's the wedding? Did you talk about any of the details? Can I be a bride's maid?" She unlocks her death grip and sits back on the bed. 'Jeez, who slipped the crack into her Coco Puffs this morning?'

"We haven't talked about the details yet. We're not sure exactly when it's going to be, but we're going to wait a couple of years after I'm done with school. That way we'll be able to pay for it ourselves." She gets a sad look on her face and watches as Dawn's eyebrows furrow with curiosity. "Traditionally the father of the bride is supposed to pay for the wedding, but I'll be lucky if Dad walks me down the isle. You know he doesn't think my relationship with Faith is serious." Dawn nods her head and tries not to think back to the couple of arguments the blonde and their father had gotten into the summer they spent with him in L.A.

"And yes, Dawnie, you can be one of my bride's maids. But you can't complain about the dress." She gets an evil smirk on her face but Dawn just rolls her big blue eyes. Buffy yawns a very wide yawn and her eyes close for a few seconds. She starts to drift off but Dawn moving on the bed startles her away. "I'm really tired, Dawn, I need to get some sleep." The young brunette just nods her head and stands up from the bed. She starts to walk towards the door but the blonde stops her by speaking. "Remember, you can't tell anyone. Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise. I'll see you later." She leaves the room and quietly closes the door behind her. The blond takes off her bra- 'Because who actually enjoys sleeping in a bra?'- and then curls up under the covers. 'Let's see, what is my dress going to look like? It's going to be white of course. Or maybe an off white because white isn't exactly true. Hell no it isn't', she thinks as she reaches over and puts the ring inside of her bedside table just in case her mother walks in the room while she's sleeping. It doesn't take her long to fall into a heavy sleep with nothing in her dreams but Faith.


	4. My Mother's Talk With Faith

Our favorite bottled blonde is startled awake when she hears the doorbell ring. She looks up, slightly confused, and is surprised to see that it is dark not only in the room but outside as well. 'I thought Mom said she was going to wake me up for lunch?' she thinks as she sits up in the bed. She hears the doorbell ring again, and the sounds of footsteps rushing down the hallway towards the stairs. She flops back down onto her pillow and decides to ignore it. That is until she hears:

"No you can't see Buffy. Who do you think you are just showing up after taking off for three days? Do you have any idea what it's like to see your child so completely broken? No, of course you don't. But one day you will, and you'll look back on this moment and feel like a total scumbag." Hearing her mother yell at, obviously, Faith makes the blonde smile inside. Not that she wants her mother to yell at her fiancé, but imagining what the brunette's face might look like right now is tickling her pink.

'Don't ever say that again. 'Tickling her pink'? What is wrong with you?' she thinks as she throws the covers off of her body and runs for the door. She almost collides with Dawn in the hallway as the two sisters make their way towards the stairs. Buffy is the first one to reach the bottom and she almost starts laughing her ass off when she sees Faith backing very slowly away from the door as if she's facing a blood thirsty tiger. 'And she might as well be.'

"Now you get out of here right now. And I don't want to see you here again unless Buffy invites you over. Do you understand me?" Joyce's voice is loud and the blonde can see some of the neighbors coming out of their houses to see what's going on. 'That's my mom for ya. She's like a grizzly bear whose cubs have been threatened or something,' she thinks as she walks forward and stands next to her mother. The brunette has never looked more relieved in her entire life.

"Mom it's ok," she says and holds back a smile. The older woman looks over at her daughter, the fire still in her eyes, as well as the anger. It makes the younger blonde take a step back. "Really, Mom, it's fine. Faith and I have a lot we need to talk about." She tries to sound sad, as if she's seeing Faith for the first time since the fight. If she acts any different she knows her mother will be suspicious. There's a long somewhat awkward silence, until it's finally broken by the matriarch of the household.

"Alright sweetheart, if you're sure. You can sit out on the back patio. And don't be too long ok? It's getting late." Buffy watches as her mother glares at the brunette and Faith takes another step back. 'She thinks she's such a badass. I can't wait to tell Willow that Faith's afraid of my mom.' The older of the two Summers walks away and heads into the living room, leaving the two teenagers standing in the doorway. Buffy looks into Faith's eyes and smiles what she thinks is an apologetic smile, but everyone with working eyes can see it is full of amusement.

"I'm glad me getting yelled at by your mom was so much fun for you," she says, sounding a little mad, but Buffy knows she's only joking. "Can we talk?" Buffy nods her head and leads the other girl through the house. As she walks through the kitchen she can't believe no one woke her up for dinner. 'They had chicken enchiladas without me? How incredibly fucked up is that? That's the last time I sleep all day. Ok, Faith is walking behind me, staring at my ass and you're thinking about food? There's definitely something wrong with you.'

They walk out onto the back porch and Buffy looks over at the porch swing. The two of them have spent a lot of time on this porch swing together. Not all of it was spent making out, but a better part of it was. She smiles a little when she remembers that one time back in December. It wasn't cold out at all, this being southern California, but that didn't stop them from cuddling under a thin blanket. Of course that was just to cover up the serious under the clothes petting that was going on. Especially when Faith decided to be bad, slip her hand passed the waistband of Buffy's jeans, and give the blonde a little early Christmas present.

"I wasn't expecting to see you again today," Buffy says and looks over at the brunette. Faith gets a weird, almost rejected look on her face and Buffy tries not to panic as she backtracks. "Not that I don't want to see you. It's just a surprise since I've already seen you twice today." 'No, that doesn't sound right either,' she thinks and sighs a very heavy sigh. "Let me start over. Hey Faith, it's good to see you." She walks over to the other girl and gives her a big hug.

"It's good to see you too," Faith says and hugs her back. They just stand there, holding each other, and allowing their minds to not think about anything but how good this moment feels. But then reality sets in, and they end the hug. After they pull back, Faith leans in and leaves a little peck on the blonde's lips. "I know this is gonna sound weird, but after I dropped you off I started thinking." Buffy can't resist.

"You're right, that does sound weird," she says playfully with a big smile on her face. She gets a 'would you cut it out?' look from the brunette and she sighs. "Sorry, I'll be serious." She sits down on the swing, and pushes on the deck to make it swing slowly back and forth. She watches Faith for a second and it's the first time she's noticed the mailman style book bag that's next to the brunette. "Ok, I'm all ears." Faith sits down next to her and opens up the bag.

"I had to write a lot of it down or I would've forgotten exactly what I was thinking." 'Aw, there's my girl,' Buffy thinks with a little smile. 'She's smart but her memory has suffered from her years of not caring.' "I know a lot of this is probably going to change, but I thought this might be kind of nice." 'Ok, what the hell is she talking about?' Buffy watches with curious eyes as Faith pulls a sketch pad out of the bag. She opens it to the first page and Buffy sees a design for a dress.

"I don't know what you want for yours, but I thought mine could be strapless, form fitting, nothing too poofy or fancy. And I thought this little 's' design would be cool. I'm thinkin they could be like a shiny silver color or something. Have 'em go across the chest, and around to the back. Then have like a strip of the shiny material a little below the bust, and have a couple more of the 's' below that. Then they can run down my left hip, and leg and then down the left side of the train. And I was thinking maybe more of an ivory color dress instead of white."

"You designed your own wedding dress?" the blonde asked sounding slightly confused. She thought Faith would be sleeping all day long, not making plans already. It's making Buffy feel very…inadequate, but at the same time she just wants to take Faith in her arms and kiss her for being so sweet. 'If she's planning this far ahead it means she's taking it very serious. She didn't propose just because she thought she was going to lose me. She did it because she loves me.'

"Yeah," Faith says looking at Buffy like she's the weirdo, like designing a wedding dress is something that the brunette does everyday and is common knowledge. "I was thinking we could have it in the summer, at a park or something. I'd rather have it in a church 'cause I was raised catholic but I really don't see that happening. If it's in the summer then obviously the flowers are going to be daises." 'Obviously,' Buffy thinks with a little eye roll. Luckily Faith isn't looking.

"Wow, so you've really thought a lot about this. All I did today was sleep." She tries hard not to pout and feel like she isn't as good as the other girl, but it's hard in her semi-tired state. Faith gets a soft smile on her face and puts the sketch pad away. She scoots closer to the blonde and wraps her arms around her, and gives the soft cheek a little kiss.

"Don't feel bad babe," Faith says in a sweet voice and kisses Buffy's cheek again. "I just couldn't get back to sleep, so I laid in my bed and just started thinking. Then I got that picture stuck in my head. We're going to plan all of it together, ok?" The blonde smiles and relaxes into the embrace. She turns her head to the side, and gives Faith a kiss on the lips. It was meant to be an innocent little peck, but once her soft lips touch Faith's irresistible there's no going back.

"I've missed you so much," the brunette moans out between kisses. Buffy knows exactly what she means by that, and she's thinking the same thing. 'But we can't have sex out here, someone could walk out here on us,' she thinks as Faith slips a hand under her shirt, and runs her thumb over Buffy's stiff nipple. It makes the blonde moan, and presses herself more firmly against the brunette's body. "Wanna get out of here?" They rest their foreheads together and pant heavily as they try to catch their breath.

"Yeah," Buffy says and kisses Faith again. It doesn't last as long as the others, and when it ends she's breathing even harder. "But where are we going to go? Unless we rent a motel room or something we don't have anywhere to go." Faith smiles and Buffy can't help but grow very suspicious. 'She planned this didn't she? She didn't come over here just to show me that picture she drew. She wanted to get in my pants all along. Why did she wait so damn long?' she thinks and leans against the back of the swing. She holds onto Faith's hand and watches the other girl as the smile gets a little bigger.

"I've got a little bit of a surprise, but you have to come with me ok?" Buffy nods her head and Faith smiles a little more. She leans over and gives the blonde a little peck on the lips. "You need to pack some bags. It's sort of an over the weekend type of surprise." Buffy's eyebrows furrow in confusion and Faith chuckles a little, and gently smoothes out the wrinkle with her thumb. 'What does she have up her sleeve? An over the weekend surprise? So she wants to take me somewhere? This should be good.' "Trust me, ok?"

"Ok. I trust you," the blonde says with a little smile on her face. They stand up and Faith grabs her bag, and they walk back into the house. Buffy tries hard not to show her irritation when she sees Dawn sitting at the breakfast bar trying to act like she was there the entire time, instead of at the door with her ear pressed to the wood. "I need to tell my mom I'm leaving. Do you want to wait here, or come upstairs with me?" Faith gives her a 'what are you crazy?' type of look and Buffy laughs. "I should've known. You're such a little pussy cat." Faith gets her trademark smirk on her face and wiggles her eyebrows.

"You got that right," she says and gives the blonde a little smack on the ass. Buffy giggles and swats at Faith's hand. They stare at each other for a few seconds at as if by some type of magnetic force they lean in closely and start to kiss right there in the middle of the kitchen. It starts out gentle, and somewhat innocent, but then it grows in passion, and soon warm tongues are battling for dominance.

"I'm trying to eat over here!" Dawn squeals and the two move apart. They look over at the younger girl sitting at the breakfast bar looking horrified and Buffy can't help but smile. "That's so fucking gross." The blonde's hazel eyes get really big when she hears her little sister say that.

"Wow, Dawnie, I've never heard you say that word before." The little brunette rolls her big blue eyes, and goes back to eating her soup. "Sorry, it's just been a very emotional couple of days. I'm sure you'll understand when you're older." Dawn rolls her eyes again and the two lovers leave the room. Buffy finds her mom sitting on the couch reading one of her romance novels like she's been doing lately. 'Not to sound gross but Mom really needs to meet a guy. A nice guy who will treat her right and give her everything she needs. And most of those needs are going to be left unsaid, ok?' Whatever.

"Hey Mom," Buffy says softly so she won't startle the older woman. Joyce looks up from her book, and raises an eyebrow at her daughter's flushed appearance. She can't help but smile a knowing smile at the rumpled clothing, her kiss swollen lips, her slightly messy hair, and the dark color of her cheeks. She also can't help but tease just a little.

"I take it you two kissed and made out. I mean, kissed and made up?" she says and Buffy blushes with embarrassment, although you can't really tell what with her face already being of a reddish color. Faith laughs and instantly gets a little smack in the arm. She goes quiet for fear of Buffy changing her mind about going away for the weekend.

"Yes we talked things out," Buffy says and shifts around uncomfortably. The wetness between her legs is something she doesn't mind getting when she's alone with Faith, but now that her mother is in the room she feels very awkward and a little dirty. She sighs and tries to ignore it. "We decided that since things have been so crazy lately we're going to take off for the weekend, to just get away. Faith has her cell phone." She looks over at the brunette to confirm this, and she gets a little nod in reply. "So I'm gonna pack and we'll be back sometime on Monday."

Joyce sighs and closes the book. This is a very strange feeling that she's having right now. She wants to tell Buffy that she won't be going anywhere this weekend, especially with Faith, but technically she can't. Buffy is eighteen now and legally Joyce can't keep her here. 'She's growing up, and all I can do now is hope that she's learned some of those things I tried to teach her about life. And they're definitely going to get up to some mischief if they go away.' She sighs again, and looks into Buffy's pleading eyes.

"Ok, but I need to know where you're going." She sees her daughter about to argue so she interrupts before the situation gets out of hand. "I know it's your life, and you can go if you want, but humor me, ok? I've been your mother for eighteen years and I like to know where you're going to be, just in case of emergency." She watches the girls exchange a look and she raises her eyebrows in anticipation.

"Well, Mrs. S it's kind of a surprise," Faith says in a sheepish voice. 'Wow, I guess I really scared her. I think we need to have a little talk.' "Hey B why don't you go pack and I'll tell your mom where we're going?" Buffy raises her eyebrows at the brunette. 'She has bravery that's for sure,' she thinks. She looks a little unsure, though. After the display her mother showed earlier she doesn't think it's a good idea to leave her girlfriend alone with her. "It's ok, B. I'll be fine." Buffy sighs, and gives the brunette a little kiss on the cheek before she runs up the stairs.

"Faith you can have a seat if you like," Joyce says and motions towards the other end of the couch. Joyce watches as the brunette nervously walks across the room, and sits down on the couch. She isn't relaxed like she would normally be. 'And that's all my fault,' Joyce thinks and turns a little so she can see the brunette better. "Faith, I'd like to apologize for going off on you earlier." Surprised brown eyes penetrate her soft hazel ones, and she can't help but smile.

"I know that things aren't always easy when you're in a relationship, and fights are going to happen. Seeing my daughter so upset because you left was hard. She was in pain and there was nothing I could do to fix it. There was no real booboo for me to kiss and make better." She chuckles when she sees Faith trying not to smile. "It's ok, dear. I know how silly that sounds. After their father and I got divorced it's been hard for me to trust other people with them. But I trust you Faith. I think when all is said and done you'll be there to take care of her when I can't." The brunette is very surprised by Joyce's words and it takes her a minute to figure out what to say.

"I promise I won't hurt her," her tone is low and soft. She tenses up for a second when the older woman wraps her up in a big hug. She's gotten used to receiving hugs from Buffy's mom, so that's not the problem. It's the whole 'getting a hug from Buffy's mom while she's horny' that's throwing her through a loop. The hug ends and Faith is more relaxed now that she knows Joyce isn't going to kill her at any moment. "Anyway, my foster parents rent out this campground up north, and they said it was alright if I use it during the summer. It's a six hour drive, but it's worth it."

"Alright," Joyce says and looks into Faith's brown eyes, her own have a little mischief in them. "Try not to have too much fun." Faith blushes a little and both woman look over towards the stairs when they hear Buffy coming down them. She sounds more like a heard of cattle then an eighteen-year-old girl. When she reaches the bottom she gives the two on the couch a strange look. 'Why are they sitting so close? Oh my God, where they hugging? Mom is so embarrassing sometimes.'

"I'm all packed up if you're ready to go," she says and drops her four heavy bags to the ground. Faith wasn't specific about what type of attire the blonde should bring so she had to pack a little of everything. "Or do you two need a few more minutes to work out your issues?" Joyce and Faith both laugh a little bit, although Faith's sounds more nervous then amused.

"I just needed to clear the air," Joyce says and stands up from the couch and moves closer to her slightly shorter daughter. "She's all yours again." She gives Buffy a big hug an a little kiss on the cheek. 'Just because she's growing up it doesn't mean I can't baby her a little.' "Be safe, and call me if you need anything, ok?" They exchange their goodbyes, and the two teenagers leave, one of them complaining far more then the other about the heaviness of the bags.

"For Christ's sakes B, we're only gonna be gone for two and a half days. You didn't have to pack your entire life. How did you get these down the stairs?" She sounds a little breathless and it's not from anything fun either.

"I pushed them." This is said as if it's an everyday thing. "I told you not to carry three of them. I could have helped. You don't have to be all macho all the time." The eldest of the girls can't help but smile and let out a little chuckle as she watches the two make their way down the walkway. She's a little scared to think of what the future might bring her daughter. She has a feeling that more heartache is to come, but for now she's going to set her worries aside and just let everyone be happy, including herself.


	5. My Rocky Start

_I'd like to just give some props to dawnster15 for figuring out that I completely stole the idea of starting all the chapters with 'my' from Scrubs. And do answer your question yes I am a huge fan of that show. Anyway, now on to the story. I hope you enjoy._

* * *

The ride up the coast wasn't as bad as Buffy thought it was going to be. She thought she would be bored, but just sitting quietly with Faith was exactly what she needed to calm her down, and make the stressed out feeling go away. They stopped for breakfast at a Denny's and shared a Grand Slam breakfast and a cup of coffee. This way they wouldn't have to dip into the gas money too much before they get to the campground. They're almost there now, and Buffy can't wait to see what it looks like. She's never been camping before, and she has an image in her head of what it's going to be like, and it's building up the excitement.

"Alright, B, here we are," Faith says and parks the truck in the large parking lot. Buffy doesn't have time to form an opinion, let alone voice one, before Faith is out of the truck and walking around to the other side. 'We drove six hours for this?' Buffy thinks as Faith opens her door for her. She smiles and takes the offered hand and hops out of the truck. "So, what do you think?" Faith can tell by the look on Buffy's face that she isn't too impressed with the place.

"It's nice," she says and Faith raises an eyebrow. Buffy sighs and takes another look around. There are families scattered all over the place, most of them have dogs, and it just seems…a little claustrophobic. "It is, it's just…I thought we'd be a little more, um, alone then this. There are a lot of people here, and there's not that much space between the camping spots." Faith chuckles a little bit and they walk around to the back of the truck.

"It's crowded down here, but the closer we get to the beach the bigger the spots are. Trust me. I've been here a bunch of times. The only time we're ever going to see anyone is during the day when we leave the tent," she says, and wiggles her eyebrows playfully. Buffy gets a big smile on her face, and she wraps her arms around Faith's waist. Even though they are in public, in a town she's never been to before and therefore she doesn't know how the people around them might react, she leans in and gives Faith a little peck on the lips. 'Mmm, she still tastes like syrup from the pancakes.'

"Why Ms. Lehane, I do declare," she says in her best southern accent. "You wouldn't be plannin on takin me before our weddin night, would you?" She bats her eyelashes a few times and gets a big pout on her face. She watches as Faith smiles, and reaches back and pus the tailgate down. In the blink of an eye she grabs Buffy around the waist and lifts her up onto the tailgate. She spreads Buffy's thighs with her hands, and stands in between them. She wraps her arms around the blonde's lower back, and leans in really close so their lips are only an inch apart.

"It's a little late to save yourself for your wedding night, don't you think?" she asks and lifts a playful eyebrow. Moisture pools between the blonde's legs at just the feel of Faith pressed up against her. 'It's been way too long. I can almost guarantee that we will be having sex tonight,' she thinks and tries to close the very small distance between them, but Faith pulls back just out of reach. "Ah, ah, ah, B, there are a lot of little kids runnin around here. I don't think their parents would want them exposed to such sexy stuff."

"Babe, that is so unfair. I don't like it when you tease me," the blonde whispers and tries to kiss the brunette again, but again Faith moves just out of reach. "Fine, we won't do anything right now because of the kids. You know I'm starting to get a little bit of a headache. I don't think I'm going to want to do anything more then cuddle tonight." She looks deeply into Faith's brown eyes, her own hazel ones are twinkling with mischief. Faith's eyes go big, and Buffy starts laughing. The brunette tries to kiss the blonde, but Buffy just lies down against the bags in the bed of the truck.

"Now you're right where I want you," Faith says, and starts tickling Buffy's stomach mercilessly. The blonde starts laughing, and squealing, and struggling, but Faith has the advantage since she isn't the one lying down. "Say it B." Buffy knows exactly what Faith is talking about. They've done this many times in the passed. I for one think it's immature and dumb, but hey, I'm just a narrator, what can I do? 'Not use so many run on sentences. That would be a start,' Faith thinks and moves up to the blonde's ribs.

"Never!" Buffy yells, and draws even more attention to the two girls. "I'll never say it!" She tries to get away from Faith's strong, yet oh so soft hands, but she can't. Part of her doesn't really want to. It feels so good having Faith's attention on her in this way. Sometimes she thinks that the brunette is too much about the having of sex. As in she wants it all the time, even when they aren't the only ones in the room. But when she's being playful like this it makes Buffy feel special. 'I'm not trying to sound mean, but Faith has slept with a lot of girls. But how many of those girls has she tickled?'

"Say it or I'll tickle you 'til you piss your pants," Faith says a little louder then she meant to. It doesn't matter to her though. Neither one of them are paying attention to their surroundings. Right now it's just the two of them, and the rest of the world has faded away. They don't see the grown men and women watching them with curiosity, the teenage boys watching them with lust, or the children watching them with amusement. No, none of that exists right now.

"Ok, ok I give! You win!" Buffy squeals, and gives a little yelp when she feels Faith lay on top of her to gain more control. She knows that isn't going to be enough. Faith will do this until she wets herself if she doesn't say it. She's done it before, and even if that ended badly for both of them, she'll do it again. "You're prettier then me! You're prettier then me! There I said it, now stop!" Faith instantly stops tickling the blonde girl below her, although she's kind of sad about it. All of that wiggling around Buffy did was starting to turn her on.

"I can't believe you did that," Buffy says and looks up into Faith's eyes. She's very well aware of how close they are, and she's also aware of how close she is to leaning up and kissing Faith. 'But she's right. We can't kiss in front of all these people. They probably think we're freaks already.' "I can't believe you made me say that." This is said with a playful pout. She watches as Faith's expression changes from a playful, lighthearted one, to a more serious one.

"I may be pretty, but you are absolutely beautiful," she says, her voice low and husky. 'Fuck the people.' Buffy closes the very small distance between them and presses her lips softly against Faith's. The kiss doesn't deepen. It doesn't grow in passion, and their tongues don't come out to play. It does, however, remain sweet and soft, and innocent in a way. Faith is the one to finally pull away, and both of them are left panting from the lack of oxygen.

"Who is this really sweet girl I'm kissing?" Buffy asks, her voice low, but her tone very playful. "Who are you, and what have you done with the real Faith?" Faith just smiles and kisses her again. This one is more passionate then the last. It's heated and raw and conveys the message very clearly. They want each other, and they want each other bad. Without even realizing it their hips start to move, grinding their pelvic bones together. Buffy moans into Faith's mouth as the ache between her legs gets worst.

"Dude come look at this. God that is so fuckin hot," they hear a nearby guy say. Their little bubble has been popped for good. The realization that they're not in their own little world is now staring them in the face. Buffy sighs, and looks deeply into Faith's chocolate brown eyes and smiles a sweet little smile.

"I'm too tired to carry the bags, can you do it by yourself or do you really need me to help?" she says trying to be serious but there's a little smirk on her face. Faith just chuckles and slides off the blonde, making sure their bodies touch for as long as possible. It does nothing but heat Buffy's body up even more, as was intended, and the blonde feels like she's going to explode if she doesn't get some release soon.

"You're tired? I've been up for almost thirty-six hours," Faith says. Her tone isn't bitchy, just surprised that Buffy would try to use the tired excuse. The blonde's eyebrows furrow as she thinks about it. 'Oh God, I totally forgot that Faith didn't get any sleep. I woke her up after she left, and we spent a lot of time at the park, and she said she couldn't fall asleep because of all the ideas running around in her brain.' She gives Faith a little kiss on the lips and gently rubs her back.

"I'm sorry I forgot you've been sleep deprived. I'm surprised we made it up here without getting in an accident." Buffy watches as Faith smiles one of her dimple filled smiles. "How about you show me where we'll be staying and I'll unload the truck?" Despite the fact that Faith is really trying to hold it in, and Buffy can tell that she is, the blonde can't help but get irritated that Faith wants to laugh because of that last statement. The irritation is definitely showing on her pretty face.

"B, don't get mad. I don't mean anything by it, but it's a kinda long hike to the cabin, and some of those bags are really heavy." This does nothing but add fuel to the fires. Faith does her best to back paddle out of the situation. "It's just you're not all about the muscles, you know? You're more on the…feminine side, which isn't a bad thing, but some of those bags are really heavy. Especially the ones with the food. So for the sake of your health I don't think it would be a good idea for you to carry them by yourself." Buffy glares, puts her hands on her hips, and taps her right foot.

"So because I'm a 'girly girl'-" yes she used air quotes. "I can't carry the bags by myself? That's bull Faith, and you know it. I'm a lot stronger then I look. Just because I like 'girly' colors, and wear 'girly' clothes it doesn't mean I can't do anything for myself. I'm not some damsel that needs to be waited on hand and foot all the time." Faith tries to take a step away from the angry blonde, but she's blocked by the truck.

"I'm not saying you need help with everything. I'm just saying that you need help with some of the bags. I couldn't even do it by myself I had to get Noah to help me." That little fact doesn't make all of the anger go away. 'Why is she getting so mad? We're not even married yet and I feel like I've aged five years,' Faith thinks and tries to come up with some way to make things better. At this point it's almost impossible. If she says anything else it'll only dig a deeper hole for her to fall in. Yep, she might as well just give up and let the little blonde figure out for herself that she won't be able to do it on her own.

'Hey, stay out of my damn head. The last thing I need right now is you pokin around.' Whatever, I'm the narrator and I'll do what I want. If I want to go inside Buffy's head, I will. If I want to go inside yours I will. If I want to ignore you assholes and talk about that redhead over there, I will. And if I want – oh my God is that a bear? 'Where?' Ha, made ya look. 'You're such an asshole. You know that?' I prefer the term jackass.

"Faith have you been paying attention to a word I've said in the last five minutes?" Buffy asks sounding even more irritated then before. 'Now look at what you did. Fuckin distracting me and shit,' the brunette thinks, and tries to come up with an excuse as to why she wasn't paying attention to the ranting blonde. "Nevermind, I'll get my bags, and you get yours, and we'll both get the really heavy ones, ok?" And with that she climbs into the back of the truck and starts to remove her baggage.

'Sometimes she drives me crazy,' the little blonde thinks and picks up the largest bag she brought. 'It's like when I talk she zones out and starts thinking about pointless stuff. It makes me feel…invisible or something. I hate it when she does that. But that panicked look on her face was kind of cute. Maybe I should go easy on her. She's really tired, and it was a long drive up here. I guess I'll just have to do something to make up for my behavior,' she thinks with an evil little smile on her face. 'Faith is going to be one very happy woman tonight.'


	6. My First Camping Trip

A/N:_ I'm sorry it took me so long to update this story. Writer's block, mixed with some not so good stuff going on in my life gave me no inspiration or desire to write. But hopefully I'll be completely over that soon. I'm about halfway finished with the next chapter so keep your eyes peeled for that. And in case you're wondering the song I use in this chapter is 'Watch Over Me' by Gina Gershon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your update._

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"So this is camping, huh?" Buffy asks and looks over at Faith. The two are lying next to each other in their tent on a slightly uncomfortable air mattress, huddled under the covers, and feeling a little awkward. 'But why is it so awkward? We've never been like this before,' the blonde thinks and gives the brunette a little smile. 

"Yep, this is camping," she replies, and returns the blonde's little smile. After they unpacked all of their stuff they had a light lunch, and took a long walk on the beach. The afternoon flew by with lots of laughter, and some smoochies, but other then that completely uneventful. Their dinner consisted of fire roasted hot dogs, and s'mores, because otherwise it just isn't camping. Now it's dark outside, and very cold, and the two don't really know what to say.

"Is it just me or is this a little weird?" she asks, sounding a little sheepish. She is a little afraid of Faith's reaction, even though she won't admit it. She just wants things to go smoothly. The fight that they had before Faith left was brutal, and even though they talked a little about it, it's going to take a while for the wounds to heal. She hears the brunette let out a very long sigh and she chances a sideways glace at the slightly taller girl.

"I don't know why it's like this. We were fine back in Sunnydale. I remember there being kissage action, unless I imagined it." There's a moment's silence and the brunette looks over at the blonde, her eyes a little wide in mock-terror. "I didn't imagine it, right?" Buffy smiles and scoots a little closer to the other girl. Now that they're talking, and not just sitting in silence the tension is starting to melt away.

"No, you didn't imagine it," Buffy says with a little smile. She slowly searches under the covers and finds one of Faith's hands. She takes it in her own and gives it a playful squeeze. "There were definitely smoochies." The two smile at each other and Faith scoots a little closer to the blonde. Buffy looks into the brunette's soulful eyes and sees the look of contemplation in them. 'Not exactly the look I was going for, but ok,' she thinks and turns over onto her side. "What's that look for?" 'I hope she isn't thinking anything bad. I just want to relax with her.'

"I'm just really, really happy. That's all," she says and Buffy gets a big smile on her face. She lets go of the brunette's hand and moves it to her stomach. She slips her hand under the fabric of Faith's pajama shirt, and lightly strokes the soft flesh. "It just seems like my whole life has been just one big disappointment. I never got to know my dad, my mom was never really a mom, and my brother was taken away from me." She looks deeply into Buffy's eyes, as if she's trying to look into her soul. "You make the hurt go away, and it makes me love you even more."

Buffy doesn't respond with words. Instead she leans over and places a gentle kiss on Faith's lips. It's slow and gentle at first, but then it grows in passion. Buffy gently rubs her tongue along Faith's bottom lip, and the brunette instantly responds by opening her mouth just enough for Buffy to slip her tongue inside. The blonde takes her time exploring Faith's mouth, and is encouraged by the little moans coming from the back of the brunette's throat. They eventually have to pull back for air, and now that her body head has risen Buffy definitely regrets wearing sweats to bed.

"You're such a girly-girl sometimes," Buffy lightly teases. She knows not to take it too far or Faith will feel insecure. "You try to act all rough and tough, but then you go and something so sweet that makes me want you so bad." Faith smiles and moves some of the blonde locks out of Buffy's face. She gently caresses her soft cheek for a moment before letting it rest on the delicate skin. Buffy turns her head a little and leaves a kiss on the palm of Faith's hand. "I love you so much. I really don't think I could eve live without you." Faith leans in and places a gentle kiss on Buffy's lips.

Buffy kisses her back with earnest. She starts to gently rub the very warm skin of Faith's stomach a little more, and she swears she can hear the brunette purring. She pulls back from the kiss, and smiles up at the love of her life. What she sees isn't exactly the reaction she was going for, but she doesn't get mad or upset. 'Which if you think about it is pretty big of me. I mean, we're totally making out, and I'm trying my best to turn her on, and she goes and does that,' she thinks.

She watches as Faith yawns a very big yawn. One so big she can see the little hanging thing in the back of her throat. 'What is that called by the way? And what is for?' I don't know what it's called, but I think it's for the gag reflex. Instead of getting irritated that Faith yawned in the middle of their make out session she takes a closer look at Faith's face. The dark circles under her eyes serve as reminders of how long the brunette has been awake.

"Baby you must be so tired. Wanna get some sleep?" she asks and snuggles up Faith. The brunette wraps her arms around Buffy and nods her head a little. Now that all of the sleeplessness is catching up with her she's completely exhausted. 'I have a hot blonde pressed up against me, who's reading and willing, and I wanna sleep. This is a very fucked up moment,' she thinks and sighs a little. Since the two have been together for so long, or at least in Buffy's mind they have, she knows exactly what to do in order to put the brunette to sleep.

"'Have I told you that I love you?'" she softly sings, and places a little kiss right behind Faith's ear. She doesn't think she has a good singing voice, and trust me she's right, but hearing her sing has always lulled Faith to sleep. "'That you mean the world to me? And each moment we're together, it's like I'm living in a dream. When I'm without you I'm lost at sea. 'Cause you're my angel who's always watching over me.'" She stops to clear the little lump in her throat, and then finishes the song.

"I lie away while you are sleeping. And thank the lord for I am blessed. I can't believe the joy you bring me, with all your love and tenderness. When I'm without you I'm lost at sea. 'Cause you're my angel who's always watching over me." When she finishes she leaves another little kiss on the back of Faith's ear. She can tell the brunette isn't asleep yet just by her breathing, but that doesn't mother her at all.

"I don't wanna fall asleep just yet Blondie," Faith whispers and gives Buffy a little pinch on the ass. "But thanks for trying." She presses her lips against Buffy's forehead and lightly kisses the smooth skin. She inhales deeply through her nose, breathing in Buffy's scent. "Remember where we heard that song?" She gets a big grin on her face as she thinks back on that night. 'Totally cliché, but we loved every second of it,' she thinks, and rubs Buffy's lower back.

"Yeah," Buffy says with a growing smiling on her face. "It was the first slow song at prom. And I loved it so much I begged the DJ give me a copy of the mix tape just so I could have it." 'Yeah right, like the story stops there,' Faith thinks and smiles even more. She squeezes Buffy a little and she knows the blonde isn't going to retell this part of the story.

"But he wouldn't give you a copy, and you were so sad. So we waited until prom was over and he was putting all of his stuff away, and I slipped off my heels and gave them to you. Then I snuck up when he wasn't looking and grabbed the cd and ran." They both start laughing a little as they remember the look on the guy's face, and all of the not so nice things he started yelling at them.

"Then we went to the hotel room you reserved, and made sweet, sweet love until the sun came up to the mix tape we danced to at prom." They both chuckle a little bit, and Buffy snuggles in as close as she can to Faith. Part of it is because of the cold, but a bigger part is from the fact that Faith was gone for three days. For three whole days they didn't talk, and they didn't see each other. For three whole days. It felt more like an eternity for the blonde. Her heart felt like it had been ripped out, and shoved down a garbage disposal. 'But now Faith's back, and we're gonna be closer then ever before.'

"I like this," the blonde says after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "Just the two of us all cuddled up. I know we're cuddled like this before, but it feels different. Now that we're engaged it just feels like this is something that's going to become a part of my routine, and I love it. I want you to be a part of my daily routine." She knows that Faith might not be a part of her daily routine for a while. In college she's going to have a roommate, and things are going to be totally different.

"I just have to suffer through one year of college, and then we can be together every night. You can rub my back while I do my homework so I won't cramp up, and I can massage your feet after a long day's work." Faith chuckles a little at that thought. "We'll be so frickin happy it'll make people's teeth hurt." Faith laughs at that, and Buffy chuckles a little too. Another comfortable silence falls over them, and the blonde tries her best to fall asleep, but she knows it's no use.

"I was thinking a little more about the wedding on the drive up here," she says and gives Faith's neck a little kiss. The brunette let's out a little 'hmm?' and Buffy smiles. 'She must be getting really close to falling asleep if she won't give a verbal response.' "I was thinking we could have a live band, but not one of the cheesy ones, that's made up of balding middle aged men. I want a nice one. Even if we have to cut back on the flowers and buy cheap linen."

"I think a DJ would be better," Faith says in a little voice. She's definitely ready to fall asleep, but not enough that she can't throw in her two cents. "With a band if one person gets sick the whole thing is ruined. And this way we can have all of our favorite songs." 'She has a point, but I like the idea of a live band. Much more romantic.' "Do you want matching bouquets?" 'Huh?'

"What? I thought the one who walks down the isle gets a bouquet?" Buffy asks, completely confused and now that her brain is starting to do some heavy thinking she's feeling a little tired. 'Great, now you wanna shut off. Stupid brain,' she thinks a little bitterly and tries to pay attention to Faith's words.

"I know, but I thought my brother could walk me down the isle first, and then I'll wait for you at the end. Then your dad can give you away." 'If he even comes at all,' Buffy thinks and tries really hard not to ruin this moment with her negative thoughts. 'Is it too much to ask for him to be the one to give me away at my wedding? Every dad should big at the big events in their children's lives. High school graduation, college graduation, wedding, and when they have babies. But I'm repeating myself now.'

"That sounds like a great idea," Buffy says and gets a mischievous smile on her face. Teasing Faith is one of her favorite pass times, and she doesn't think that's going to change any time soon, if at all. "That way you can throw your bouquet and I can throw your garter." She waits for the response, but none comes. "I said, that way you can throw your bouquet and I can throw your garter." She waits a few seconds, but still there's no response. She very slowly lifts herself up and looks at her fiancé. 'I should've known she'd fall asleep,' she thinks and places a soft kiss on Faith's cheek.

"I love you," she says to Faith's sleeping form, her voice is barely a whisper, but it doesn't matter to her. She rests her head down on Faith's shoulder again and inhales her scent as she closes her eyes and tries to drift off to sleep. 'I wonder how much it would cost for a horse drawn carriage? No, that's probably too expensive, and over the top. But how cool would that be? After we say 'I do' and kiss we can make our way back down the isle and be taken to our reception by a horse drawn carriage. That would be so cheesily romantic. Which is perfect because Faith and I can be very cheesy.' That's her last thought before she drifts off into a deep sleep.


	7. My Stress

A/N: _I told you I was almost done with another update. I'm working on another one as I speak. Well, not right this moment but I already have a paragraph finished. Oh yes, I'm proud. Anyway, there are probably only going to be two or three more chapters of them in Sunnydale, and then they're going to Illinois. And for any of you who may live in Illinois I've never been there before so I have no idea what it's like. So I apologize if I get any generalizations wrong. I hope you enjoy your update. Keep your eyes open for the next one. I have no idea when it'll be finished.  
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The leading lady of this story nervously bites at her nails. Everything so far has gone off without a hitch, but Murphy's law dictates that whatever can go wrong will. She watches as her mother talks with Faith's foster mom, and foster dad. Dawn is busy chatting with Natalia, and the younger kids are quietly watching a Disney movie (The Lion King). Noah still isn't here, but dinner isn't until seven, so he still has half an hour before he's officially late.

The two returned from their camping trip a week ago, and as soon as they got back they decided to get the families together and make the announcement. Buffy knew the longer she put it off, the angrier her mother would probably be. Faith has the ring in her pocket, and whether or not the dinner goes well she's going to put that gold ring on Buffy's finger, and it'll be official. The blonde of the two is about to have a heart attack she's so nervous about tonight. She doesn't want her mother to hate her, and that's what she thinks is going to happen.

"They know Faith," Buffy whispers in her ear. The two are standing a little away from the groups and just watching. It's been this way for about fifteen minutes now. The blonde is on the verge of a heart attack, but the brunette is having a pretty good time. It's nice to see her family, and Buffy's family together like this. "We've been dating for two years and we've never gotten together like this. They know something is up." The brunette sighs and gently rubs Buffy's lower back.

"They don't know, Buffy. Everyone is having a good time but you. Just relax, ok?" she says in her sweet voice. The blonde sighs, and nods her head a little. She wants tonight to go perfectly, but she isn't sure how everyone is going to react. She gives Buffy a little kiss on the cheek and then walks over to the younger kids. She sits down on the floor next to them, and as soon as her butt hits the carpet Tanner is in her lap. 'Seeing them together is so sweet. He loves her so much,' Buffy thinks and smiles. Then the little redheaded boy looks over at the blonde and glares. 'Good thing his name isn't Chucky or I'd be worried.'

"Buffy come over here," Joyce says and motions for her daughter to join her and Judy. The younger blonde holds back a sigh and stands next to the two women. "Judy and I were just talking about you getting into Northwestern, and we were wondering what your major is going to be." 'Crap, I still haven't picked a major. Great, I knew this night would go bad somehow.' Images of having a nervous breakdown in the middle of the living room flash through the blonde's mind.

"Well, I still haven't decided what I'm going to major in. I have my freshmen year to think about it before I have to pick one, and even then it might change." The two women nod and sip at their drinks. 'I really hope they don't get drunk.' The door bell rings and it startles the little blonde. She jumps a little and it makes everyone who saw laugh at her expense. "Are you ok dear? You seem a little tense."

"I'm fine," Buffy says quickly, and her voice slightly cracks. She glances over at Faith and she sees the brunette smiling very wide, and biting her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing. "I'll, ah, just go get the door." She walks away and sighs a little sigh. 'Ok, this is probably going to be Faith's brother, which makes everything even more complicated then before.' She answers the door and sure enough it's Noah on the other side, dressed in his usual jeans and t-shirt. 'At least it looks like he washed them,' she thinks and smiles a big fake smile and lets him in.

"How are you tonight?" she asks just to be polite. She's been dating Faith for two years and they still don't like each other. 'You'd think he'd come around. Seriously, why doesn't he like me?' She decides to ignore it for right now because she has bigger issues on her mind. Like what exactly she's going to say to the group of people when they make the announcement.

"I'm fine. You?" he asks but when they walk into the living room and he sees his little sister sitting on the floor all thoughts of talking to the blonde go right out the window. "Hey Faith." His voice is a little louder then everyone would like. As soon as she hears him the brunette sets the little redhead on the ground and jumps up. She runs over to the large man, and gives him a great big bear hug. "Haven't seen you in a while. I got an apartment. You'll have to come over tomorrow and check it out."

"Definitely," she says as she releases him and takes a step back. She notices everyone watching her and blushes. It isn't her fault that she turns to mush every time her big brother walks in the room. 'I thought maybe she acted like that because she wasn't used to seeing him outside of a visitor's station, but nope. Faith thinks her brother is as good as God or something. It's so irritating.'

"I better go check on the roast," Joyce says when she notices her daughter giving the new arrival some serious death glares. She sets her drink down on an end table, and as she walks towards the doorway she puts her arms around Buffy's shoulders. "Why don't you help me with that, dear?" She doesn't give the younger girl a chance to answer as she practically drags her out of the room. Joyce pushes open the kitchen door and the blonde walks ahead of her.

"Ow, Mom, you're hurting, let go." She doesn't understand why she was dragged in here, but oh she is going to find out. "I really don't think you need help checking on the roast, so what's up?" She rubs her shoulder where her mother's talon like finger nails had dug into to make sure there wouldn't be a lot of resistance.

"Honey, if you keep shooting daggers with your eyes at Noah whenever he's around Faith you two are never going to get along. And we never really got the chance to talk about the Faith situation." 'Oh God, please don't start asking questions now. With all this pressure I might crack, like a little chicken egg, and spill my yoke all over the place. Ew, that was way more disgusting then I intended it to be.'

"Well, what do you want to know about the Faith situation?" she asks in a somewhat nervous voice, and leans against the breakfast bar. She watches as her mother puts on the oven mitts before opening it up, and looking inside. The smell that comes from the hot oven makes Buffy's mouth water and stomach growl. She hears her mother chuckle a little, and she's just glad no one else was around to hear that.

"Have the two of you worked everything out? I'm not trying to be nosy, but when you two were fighting it just seemed like there was a lot of…repressed emotions coming out to play. I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, but honey if you want a relationship to work then you have to get out all of that negative energy. If you let it build you'll be fighting all of the time." 'She's right, but I'll never admit that,' she thinks and takes a seat on one of the stools.

"Yes, we've talked about a lot of things. We're still trying to work through most of them." 'I can't believe she wants a DJ at the wedding. Everyone knows a live band is more sophisticated. And yet she's being totally stubborn about it.' "But we love each other, and we're going to try as hard as we can to make this work." She watches as her mother puts the mitts back where they go, and sits down across from her at the island.

"I know you two love each other." Buffy gives her a skeptical look. 'Last year she was telling me that it isn't going to last forever, and that I don't really know what love is. Can't she make up her frickin mind already?' "Now don't give me that look. I may have doubted it before because you two are so young, but I've paid closer attention to the way you act around each other, and it's very clear to anyone who's willing to take a deeper look that you love each other." Buffy gets a little smile on her face, and hope starts to rise within her. 'Maybe Mom won't hate me after all.'

"But honey," her mother says and pauses. Buffy can tell by the look on her face that she's trying to find the right words. "Sometimes love just isn't enough. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but Illinois is a long way from here, and long distance relationships are very hard to manage. And you're going to be a freshman in college, and that's going to take up a lot of your time." Buffy opens her mouth to protest, but Joyce beats her to the punch. "I'm not telling you to break up with her. I'm just trying to warn you about what might happen. You leave for college in two months."

"I know when I'm leaving," she tries as hard as she can to keep the irritation out of her voice. "And I know it's going to be really hard, but I think…I mean, I know Faith and I are strong enough to survive my freshman year." 'Oh shit, I didn't mean to say just my freshman year. Fuck, now she's going to know something is up. She does think something is up. I can tell by that look on her face.' Buffy hears the timer on the oven go off, and she instantly jumps off the stool. "I'll go tell everyone dinner is ready." She rushes out of the room before her mother can say anything.

Once everyone is informed that dinner is ready everyone goes into the dinning room and sits down. That little bit of information was given a little too soon because Joyce doesn't have the food on the table yet. Dawn helps her mother with the food and soon everyone has generous amounts of pot roast, caramel glazed carrots, buttermilk rolls, mashed potatoes and beef gravy on their plates. Joyce is at the head of the table with Dawn to her right. Buffy is sitting next to her, with Faith and Noah also on that side of the table. Bill is at the end of the table, with Judy to his right and Natalia sitting next to her. The younger kids have their very own table not far from the 'grown up table'.

Not all is well for Faith at the moment. She has two people competing for her attention. Her fiancé, who is currently running her fingertips along her thigh. She chose to wear a nice dress since this is a special occasion, and Buffy is taking advantage of that. Her brother is trying to tell her about the motorcycle he's thinking about buying, and she seems really interested in that but she's having a hard time concentrating since Buffy's hand is slipping higher and higher up her thigh.

Buffy watches as the two families, and Noah, talk happily amongst themselves. They all seem to be getting along, although that probably has something to do with the amount of wine the adults have consumed. Buffy takes her hand off Faith's thigh, and brings it up to her hand. She gives it a gentle squeeze and the brunette looks over at her. In Buffy's mind this is the perfect moment to tell everyone about their news. She gives Faith this little 'it's time' type of look, and the brunette just nods her head.

They look out at the other people, and even though they're sitting at the same table they all look so far away. At least they do to Buffy. She picks up her fork off of her empty plate, and taps the side of her glass with it. It takes her a few seconds to get everyone's attention, especially that of Dawn and Natalia who are busy talking about the latest Brad Pitt movie. Once all eyes are on her she feels her stomach drop, and her throat dries out like the Sahara.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why we asked for this little get-together." She pauses and looks over at Faith with a big smile on her face. The brunette gives her a little wink, and gently squeezes her hand. "Faith and I have some news that we want to share with the rest of you."

"Did Faith knock you up?" Dawn says, and she and Natalia share a laugh. "Are you two gonna have a little rugrat that acts all bratty and wears leather?" The two younger teens start laughing even harder, but Natalia stops as soon as she sees Judy's warning glare. 'Oh God, don't tell me those two are going to become best friends and plot to ruin my life,' she thinks and gives her sister a death glare. Before Joyce can reprimand her youngest daughter the oldest butts in.

"No Dawn, she didn't knock me up," she says and gives her another glare. Once Dawn sees the look her mother is giving her she stops laughing and decides if she wants to live then she needs to be quiet while Buffy is talking. "I don't know exactly how I should prepare you guys for this, so I'm just going to go ahead and say it." She looks into Faith's eyes again, and bites her bottom lip for a few seconds. Then she turns back to the others with a nervous smile on her face.

"Last week before we went on our camping trip Faith proposed." Everybody in the room goes completely silent. Except for little Tanner. He's whining because he needs to go 'potty' but his mother is too stunned at the moment to even think about her little boy's bodily functions. "And I said yes." Faith reaches into her pocket and pulls out the ring. Buffy holds her left hand in front of Faith, and gets a big smile on her face when she slips the ring onto her finger. Buffy looks at the others, and feels like she's being suffocated by the silence.

"Who needs more wine?" Joyce says and pours herself a glass. She passes it to Judy, when she's done she passes it to Bill, and even Noah refills his glass. Buffy's eyebrows furrow a little and she looks at her mother with some confusion. 'I tell her that I'm engaged, and her reaction is to drink? This isn't off to a great start.'

"Mom?" she asks. Her voice small and with a slight tremble. The older woman takes a very long drink from her glass, and avoids all eye contact. Even Dawn is extremely tense, and can't wait to see what her mother's reaction is going to be. Buffy watches as her mother sets her glass down, and then stares at the red liquid. If she were to look up she'd notice everyone at the table staring at her, waiting for an answer. 'Why won't she say anything?' All of the hope that was created earlier is now gone.

"Mom, please say something." She's on the verge of a breakdown when her mother finally looks up. Teary hazel eyes meet teary hazel eyes. For a second, Buffy thinks her mother is going to start yelling at her. That she'll tell her to get out and never come back, but that doesn't happen. Instead Joyce blinks back the tears, and gets a little smile on her face. Buffy takes it as a good sign but she doesn't allow her hopes to get too high in case they're snuffed out again.

"Congratulations sweet," she says and lifts her glass in the air. The others take their cues, and lift their glasses in the air. "To Buffy and Faith." Everyone repeats it and takes a long sip of either wine, or water depending on the age of the person. With all of the food consumed everyone moves back out to the living room except for Joyce and Buffy. These two are clearing off the table, and Buffy is a little nervous. When they're in the kitchen with all the dishes in the sink Buffy just stands there, staring at her mother.

'Was she just putting on a happy face because we have company? Is she going to start yelling now? Oh God, she hates me. She hates me, and she's going to tell me to either break up with Faith and get out of her house and never come back. I honestly don't know what I would do. I love Faith more then anything, but I need my mom. I even need Dawn, but I'll never tell her that.' But her mother doesn't start yelling. Instead she gets a big smile on her face and stands a little closer to Buffy.

"Let me see the ring," she says and the younger of the two instantly holds up her hand. Her mother gently takes a hold of it, and pulls it a little closer to her face to get a better look. "It's beautiful, sweetheart." The older woman pulls her daughter into a warm hug that lasts a minute or two. "Really, Buffy, congratulations. I had a feeling something like this was going to happen." Buffy gets a little frown on her face, and she pulls back from the hug.

"You're not mad?" she asks and tries not to get frustrated when her mother lets out a little laugh. 'Ok, I take it she isn't mad. Then what the hell is going on?' "Because you're always telling me that first loves never last, and that I shouldn't get too involved because I'm going to get my heartbroken." Joyce gets an odd look on her face and Buffy can't quite place it.

"Do I really sound that depressing?" she asks with a little laugh. 'Jesus, how much wine did she have?' the younger blonde thinks. "I'm sorry for saying all of those things Buffy. I saw you taking the same steps that I took when I was your age, and I wanted to spare you the heartache." 'Huh?' The littler blonde gets a very confused look on her face, and she doesn't even have to ask. "I was in a very serious relationship before I met your father." Before she can continue they hear Dawn calling out for her mother.

"I'll tell you about it another time, sweetheart. Let's get back to our guests ok?" she asks and Buffy nods her head. 'Ok, so Mom dated someone before she met Dad? Just the thought of that is a little weird. And I don't even want to know what they did together.' Really? 'Cause I can go inside her head and find out. 'Don't you dare! That's my mother you pervert. What are you some kind of peeping Tom or something?' Hey, those charges were dropped, asshole. 'Are you serious?'

"Hey B, what's with the weird look?" Buffy is pulled out of her mental insanity by the sound of Faith's voice. She shakes her head a little and smiles pretty at the brunette. She wraps her arms around her and rests her head on her shoulder. She wallows in the comforting feeling, and she doesn't want to leave this spot, even though she knows she has to. "Is your mom really ok with it?" Her voice is barely above a whisper. Buffy nods her head yes and leans back enough to look into Faith's eyes.

"You two aren't gonna kiss are you?" they hear a little voice and look down at the intruder who just popped their personal bubble. They see Brian looking at them like they have a contagious disease or something. "'Cause that's gross. Do you have any idea how many germs are in the human mouth?" They look back into each other's eyes and they both have very mischievous glints in them.

"So it would be totally disgusting if we did something like this?" Faith asks and then kisses Buffy square on the mouth. They instantly part their lips and let their tongues come out to play. They hear the little boy squeal, yes I said squeal, and run away. And even though they heard him leave, they don't stop kissing. At first it was fun, and playful because they were just trying to gross out Brian. Now it's growing in passion, and becoming extremely sexual.

"Jeez are you two always sucking face?" they hear a deep voice say right next to them. It pulls them out of their little world and back to reality. Buffy looks over Faith's shoulder and sees her mother, and Faith's foster mom watching them and giggling like a couple of school girls. 'Ok, no more wine for them. They're officially cut off,' she thinks and looks over at Noah. He has a weird look in his eyes that Buffy's never seen before. 'He's probably drunk too. He had four glasses of wine.'

"Can I talk to you outside?" he asks the blonde. He sees his sister tense up a little bit and he knows he's going to try to follow. "Alone, please?" Buffy nods her head, and she stares into his eyes for another minute. She nods her head again, and gives him a little smile. Then she leans over and gives Faith a little kiss on the cheek.

"Ok," she says, and lets go of Faith's hand. She can feel Faith tense up a little and she gently rubs her arm. "Baby, we're just gonna talk. Don't worry, if I need someone to come and save me I'll yell as loud as I can, ok?" The brunette smiles and nods her head a little bit. Then she leans down and places a little kiss on the blonde's lips. Mostly for territorial purposes. "Now why don't you go stop Judy from putting the lamp shade over her head?"

"What?" Faith asks and spins around. Sure enough the woman is laughing very loudly and placing a floral shade lamp over her head. Faith runs off and Buffy laughs a little. She looks over at Noah and he has a little smile on his face. She follows the large man out onto the front porch and closes the door behind her. She watches as he leans against the porch rail, and lights up a cigarette.

"So she proposed to you, huh?" he asks and she nods her head a little. He takes a drag, and slowly exhales the smoke. "She told me she had some big news, but I didn't even think of this." Buffy isn't too sure how she should take that, but she's keeping her mouth closed for now. He does notice her slightly confused expression, and explains. "The last time she said she had big news she told me she gotta tattoo. I figured it was something like that." Buffy slowly nods her head in understanding.

"She's gonna move with you, isn't she?" he asks and Buffy tenses up. She looks away from him because she knows this is the part where he's either going to get very mad, or very sad. And considering he's had a couple drinks his emotions will be even more on display then usual. "She's all I got, ya know?" Buffy looks up at him, and instantly feels guilty. 'Sadness it is,' she thinks, and sighs. "She's the only person who doesn't take one look at me, and instantly think I'm some fuckin loser."

"You're not a loser, Noah. Nobody here thinks you're a loser." He raises an eyebrow, and she furrows hers. "Well, Bill does, but he can be an ass. My sister has a huge crush on you, and my mom thinks you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Judy spoils you to death, and the kids are always trying to get you to play with them. I know Faith is the only one who really matters, and I'm sorry you feel like I'm taking her away from you. But we love each other. I want to spend the rest of my life with her." She takes in a deep breath of the warm night air, and exhales very slowly.

"You're an important part of her life," she says slowly. 'I can't believe I'm about to say what I'm going to say,' she thinks and holds her breath. "She thinks the world of you. You walk into the room and suddenly it's like 'Buffy who?' When we move to Illinois it's going to be really hard for her. She doesn't know anybody there, and I have to live on campus my first year, and she's a little reluctant to put an add out for a roommate. So if it's not too much to ask do you think you can drop everything here and go with us to Evanston?"

They stare at each other for the longest time without saying a word. Noah has this intense look in his eyes and his entire body is stiff. Then without warning he tosses the cigarette to the ground, and scoops Buffy up in a big hug. She's surprised at first. The only time they've ever touched was when they shook hands, and when Faith was in the hospital and they shared a tender moment. The blonde hugs him back and tries not to gag at the very strong cigarette smell. After a few minutes his grip doesn't loosen, and the smell doesn't get any less worst.

"Ok, I need to breathe," she says and he lets her go. She looks up into his eyes and smiles a very gentle smile. "I'll take that as a yes." He nods his head and pulls out another cigarette. "Don't tell Faith though. I want it to be a surprise." He just nods his head as he takes the first drag. She goes back into the house and subconsciously tries to smell her shirt, but it isn't working too well. She goes into the living room and stands in the doorway. She just watches the scene before her, and smiles a very happy smile.

She sees Faith on the floor wrestling around with Lauren. Brian and Tanner are on the sidelines cheering them on, and the adults are standing back just watching. Buffy doesn't see her sister or Natalia, but she has a feeling that they've retreated to Dawn's room to get away from the noise. 'They're probably up there talking about boys,' she thinks, and sighs a deep sigh. She laughs a little too herself when Faith pins Lauren to the ground and does a three count. 'She's so goofy and immature sometimes,' she thinks and rubs the golden band with her thumb. 'I can't wait to marry her.'


	8. My Best Friends

A/N: _My muse must've whip kicked me in the ass this morning. I'll try to have the next one posted as soon as possible. And for those of you who read So Damn Domestic, I'm working on it. I'm still not over my writer's block for that one, but I'm getting there. Anyway, I hope you enjoy yet another update._

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"So Buffy Summers, you only have one month left before you and Faith road trip it across the country to Illinois, do you have any thoughts about that?" Xander asks and holds a French fry close to Buffy's face as if it were a microphone. Last night went way better then expected, and now that her family knows about her engagement she's now going to tell her best friends. Faith is also off hanging out with the guys.

"I'm a little nervous actually. I know it's going to be fun, but Faith is going to have to do most of the driving, and I'm afraid it's going to be too exhausting for her." She takes a bite out of her burger and watches the little look that falls over Willow's face. Buffy and Faith have been dating for two and a half years now, and Willow has come to like the brunette girl, but would it kill Buffy to talk about something else for five minutes?

"Are you two taking a video camera to record those 'special moments'? And if so can I see the tapes?" Buffy reaches over the table and gives him a little punch on the arm. He pulls his appendage back, and rubs the now sore spot. "You know for a skinny girl you hit pretty hard." Both Buffy and Willow glare at him and he put his hands up in mock surrender. "Ok, I didn't realize you two had become feminists while I was in LA." He picks up his cheeseburger, and takes out half of it in one bite.

"We're not feminists. We're just pro active women who don't believe in gender roles," Buffy says and then starts to zone out. 'Although I think falling into a gender role wouldn't be so bad. Faith off at work bringing home the thinly cut slabs of pork, while I stay at home with our kids. I'd totally dress like Donna Reed every day, and Faith would be in nicely tailored suits. She'd come home to me cooking dinner. We'd kiss each other hello and talk about the goings on at the office, and I'd tell her all about my day.

'Then we'd sit down to eat, and afterwards give the kids a bath. Then we'd read them bedtime stories, and tuck them in. Then we'd go downstairs and relax. We'd cuddle up on the couch and share a glass of wine or two, and watch the fire make the room glow. Then after a little while when we're both sure the kids are in bed, I'd unzip her pants and give her head. That's what a marriage is supposed to be like,' she thinks and gets a dreamy smile on her face.

"Ok, now I would have told you guys this sooner, but Faith and I went on our camping trip the day after it happened, and we had to tell our families first, or we would have burned in hell. At least that's what Faith said, so I'm sorry it took me this long to tell you," the blonde babbles and her friends become incredibly serious. "You both know that Faith and I have had some problems, and we got into a huge fight, and she took off for three days." The two teenagers nod their heads and Xander pops another fry in his mouth.

"Well, the night Faith came back she climbed through my bedroom window, and apologized to me for all of things she said, and all of the stress she put me through. She said that the thought of losing me was just too much, and it was ripping her up inside." 'Ok, so maybe she didn't say that exactly, but they get the general idea.' "She told me that she knows I'm supposed to go to Northwestern because it's a great school and if I go there then I'll have a really bright future." She pauses to figure out how she's going to say the next part, but the other two misinterpret her actions.

"Buff, you don't need to say anything else. I'm so sorry. You must be hurting so bad right now. But it's good that you two went on that camping trip. You had a whole weekend to say goodbye," Willow says in a sympathetic tone, and gently rubs Buffy on the back. 'Say goodbye, what the fuck is she talking about?' she thinks, and gives the redhead a strange look.

"Will, we didn't break up. She said that I belong at Northwestern, but then she said that she wants to go with me. Then she got down on one knee, and opened up this little black box, and said 'Buffy Anne Summers will you marry me?'" She gets a big smile on her face and she holds out her left hand for the other two to see. "I said yes, obviously. Faith and I are engaged!" She lets out a very girlish squeal that catches the attention of a few other people. But they go ignore as the two friends try to recover from this shocking news.

"You two are getting married?" Willow asks. She sounds stunned, and she doesn't know what to say. Buffy nods her head, and smiles when Xander gently holds onto her hand so he can pull it a little closer and get a better look at the ring. "But, but you're going to college in a month Buffy. You can't be married and be in college. College is a time for schoolwork, and learning, and exams, and term papers, and meeting new people. How are you going to fully experience college if you're tied down to someone?" 'Ok, I expected this from Mom. What the hell is wrong with her?'

"We're not getting married yet, Willow. We're going to wait a few years after I graduate to get married. That way we can save up enough money to pay for our own wedding. I have no idea how my dad is going to react to it, and he wasn't very supportive of me when I went to LA so I doubt he'll be willing to shell out a couple thousand dollars to pay for a wedding that he doesn't think should be happening." 'Did any of that make sense?' I don't know, I wasn't paying attention.

"What is the big deal? It's not like people never marry their high school sweethearts," the now angry blonde says and pulls her hand back. She's feeling a little defensive and is tired of having to defend this. 'It's like we're back at square one. First they hate Faith, and I have to defend my decision to date her. Then they start to like Faith, and they get along better once they get to know her. And now they hate Faith, and I have to defend my decision to be engaged to her. What is wrong with them?'

"It's not a big deal," Xander says and gives a 'what gives?' look to Willow. "If this makes you and Faith happy then I say congratulations. You two have your problems but I'm sure you'll work them out." Buffy looks into his eyes expecting him to be thinking off all the different ways they can 'work things out' but all she sees is sincerity. She turns to goo inside, and a very warm smile creeps onto her face. 'Well, at least I have Xander's support,' she thinks and reaches across the table and gently rubs his arm.

"Thanks Xander. That really means a lot." She glances over at the redhead, and she still looks upset. 'I don't get it, why is she so upset? I thought this was a good thing. Everyone else but her thinks it's a good thing. Well, Willow and Bill, but he's an ass sometimes.' She doesn't know exactly what she's going to say to her friend now but someone needs to say something before Willow's ears explode. 'They are getting really red, aren't they?' "Willow, why are you getting so…angry?"

"Sorry, I just don't think people our age are old enough to make a decision like this. Look at the divorce rate, Buffy. Most of the marriages that end are couples aged from eighteen to twenty-four. But you said you're going to wait, so that's good. As long as you're not rushing into anything." Buffy can't help but feel slightly offended by that, and also relieved that Willow isn't going to argue with her about this. "Sorry for the freak out. It was just a shock. I never really thought of Faith as the marrying type of girl. And I'm not trying to say anything bad about her. There are just some people who don't want to get married, and I thought Faith was one of them."

"Well you thought wrong. Faith wants to get married. She already has designs for what her dress is going to look like, and she already has a bunch of ideas about the wedding. She thinks we should have matching bouquets, and we're both going to walk down the isle. She's going to go first, and her brother is going to walk her down it, and then I'm going to go next, and hopefully my dad will give me away. We agreed on having it in the summer, and we're going to have it outside, like in a park or something. She wants to have it in a church because she was raised catholic, and that's important to her, but like that'll ever happen."

"So I take it Faith is a lot different with you then she is around us?" Xander asks, and Buffy nods her head. She would verbally answer, but she has a large amount of cow, bread, and condiments in her mouth at the moment. Before he can say anything else the brunette boy spots someone walking towards them, and he leans a little closer to the blonde. "Heads up, here comes Scott Hope." Everybody knows that Scott has a huge crush on Buffy. He doesn't believe that Buffy and Faith are actually dating since he's only heard rumors, he's never seen the two together.

"Hey," he says and looks at the blonde girl. "I'm not sure if you remember me but I'm Scott. We had a few classes together." Buffy nods her head and starts chewing very slowly. The slower she chews the less she'll have to talk to this guy. "I know this is going to seem out of nowhere, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime." 'He's got balls I'll give him that,' she thinks, and holds up her left hand. He looks very confused and she's about to swallow her bite of food and explain but someone else speaks up before she can.

"Hey, buddy, are you blind or something? Don't you see the engagement ring on her finger? How many people have to tell you that she's already dating someone before you'll understand the meaning of the words? She's already taken. You better get out of here, and pray Faith's doesn't find out about this or she'll beat you senseless," Xander barks and Scott's eyes become very large. He mumbles out an apology and scampers off back to the table with his friends. Buffy smiles at Xander and just smiles right back.

"Thank you for that. I really didn't want to talk to him. I hate telling guys that I'm dating another girl. They either think I'm lying and I just don't want to hurt their feelings, they want to have a threesome, or they think they can cure lesbianism. I really hope it's just this town because if guys in Evanston act like this I might go insane," she complains and looks into Xander's brown eyes. "Please don't ever become that big of a pig." Ha, that rhymed.

"Don't worry Buff, I won't. What a woman chooses is her own right, and I shouldn't get butt hurt about it," he says in a very serious tone. Buffy nods her head a little, and takes the last bite of her burger. Then Xander gets a playful smile on his face and he just can't resister. "Although if you and Faith ever feel the need to experiment I really won't mind being the filling in a Fuffy sandwich." Buffy picks up a handful of fries and throws them at the boy. He blocks as many of them as he can, and starts laughing.

"I'm gonna tell Faith you said that," she says and tries not to smile at the look of fear on Xander's face.

"Please don't. I really don't want to be in a body cast for the rest of the summer. Besides I really don't think I'll be able to hand out the hotdogs on a stick if I can't move any of my body parts." Both Buffy and Willow start to laugh at his fear, and he calms down when he realizes the blonde is just joking around. The rest of the afternoon is spent goofing around, and talking about nothing in particular.


	9. My Great Date

**A/N:** _I'm sorry it took me so long to update this story. I hope you don't hate me too much for dragging my ass. The next chapter will be up a lot sooner. Anyway, enjoy your update!_

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"I had a really great time tonight," the leading lady of this story says as she and Faith walk towards her house. Tonight they went on their very first date since Faith returned from LA. Although they both had fun things didn't go exactly according to plan. The waiter at the new Italian restaurant they went to was not only rude but kept trying to look down Faith's shirt every time he came over. Buffy had to stop herself from standing up and kicking him in the groin.

The movie they saw did not live up to its hype. Not only was it really bad, but someone in the theater kept ruining the suspenseful parts by coughing on purpose to break the tension. 'And everyone knows the whole point of a suspense movie is to be tense right before something scary happens. Stupid jerk should've been kicked out,' she thinks and slowly reaches out and holds onto Faith's hand. The brunette lightly squeezes hers back as they walk up the stairs to the blonde's porch.

"I had fun too. I gotta admit the last fifteen minutes or so is my favorite part," she says with a small grin. Buffy turns so she's facing her and she returns the smile. For the last fifteen minutes or so the two have been parked in front of the Summers' home making out like the love struck teenagers that they are. 'A stereotype is a stereotype for a reason, right?' the blonde thinks and looks into the brunette's chocolate colored eyes.

"Yeah, that part was pretty great," she says and wraps her arms around Faith's waist. She gets a very soft smile on her face as she looks up at the love of her life. 'This is the girl I'm going to marry. In all of my fantasies as a kid my wedding always had a handsome groom waiting for me at the end of the isle. But I know Faith is going to make the most beautiful bride in the whole world. And I have no problem with that.' "It doesn't have to end, you know." Her tone is slightly teasing and it causes a little grin to tug at the brunette's lips.

"I really don't think your mom and your sister would appreciate hearing us, B. You're not exactly quiet." She leans down and rests her forehead against the blonde's. They both know that Faith won't be leaving tonight but her playing a little hard to get is just part of their foreplay. Buffy isn't in the mood tonight for games. If things go according to her plan then tonight is going to be the first night since the engagement that they've made love. So she pulls out her most powerful weapon. She tilts her head so her lips are pressed against the brunette's.

As soon as their lips are touching her tongue snakes its way out of her mouth and starts rubbing the other girl's, demanding entrance into her hot mouth. Faith willingly complies, and opens her mouth giving the blonde full access. Her entire body shudders at the very dominate display. In their two years of being together the thing that turns the brunette on the most is when the blonde becomes a little controlling. It doesn't happen very often, but it never fails to get the brunette needing more.

Buffy doesn't give Faith a chance to catch up as she explores the cavern of her mouth. She swirls her tongue at the roof of the brunette's mouth just how she likes it. At the same time she roughly presses her thigh against her fiancé's now hot center. The combination of the two causes Faith to moan out in pleasure and pull the blonde tighter against her body. 'And now for the fun part,' Buffy thinks and pulls back, thus ending the kiss.

"You really know how to getta girl's engine revving," Faith breathes out more then she says. The blonde dips her head down, and leaves a few feather light kisses along Faith's collarbones. She can feel the skin beneath her lips heat up, and she can't help but smile. She slowly kisses her way up the soft throat until her lips are softly touching the brunette's. Before the other girl can kiss her she pulls back and gets a devilish smile on her face. "You used to be such a nice girl. I think you've been hangin out with me too much."

"You know I think you're right," the blonde says and gets a very serious look on her face. She has to fight back a smile, though. "So I'll see you tomorrow?" She laughs when Faith's eyes go wide. She can't stop the laughter even as she tries to speak. "I can't believe you fell for that." Then Faith decides to use one of Buffy's most powerful weapons against her. She starts to pout and she doesn't hold back. A lip quiver, whimper combo is just the thing to get the blonde to stop laughing at her.

"Aww, poor baby," she says and gently runs her thumb along Faith's bottom lip. Without saying another word she gently takes a hold of Faith's hand and leads her over to the door. She pulls her keys out of her pocket, and unlocks the door. She sighs a very happy sigh as she steps into the house. The taller of the two wraps her arms around the other's waist from behind, and gently kisses her soft neck. She kisses her way up Buffy's neck, and starts to softly suckle on her earlobe. "Feeling a little eager?"

"You know I always want you," she whispers into the blonde's ear. 'She can be such a smart ass but she really knows when to say the perfect thing,' Buffy thinks and turns her head to give the brunette a tender, yet deep kiss. She turns around in Faith's arms and the kiss deepens. She wraps her arms around Faith's back and pulls her as close as she can get. Their bodies press together in all the right places, and they both let out long moans. 'How can kissing her still feel so damn good? You'd think after awhile I'd get used to her lips, and her tongue, but that is so not the case.'

"Whadda say we take this to a more…private place?" she whispers against the blonde's lips. Buffy smiles and leaves another little kiss on Faith's slightly swollen lips. Instead of answering her verbally she lets go of the brunette, and holds onto her hand. She gazes into her eyes for just a moment longer, and she can't help but smile softly. She turns and leads the other girl up the stairs, and down the hallway. They tiptoe, and are completely silent so they won't wake up the slumbering residents of the home.

When they enter Buffy's room Faith quietly closes the door behind them. They leave the light off since the moon is bright enough for them to see. Buffy turns and looks deeply into the brunette's eyes. She can see her excitement, and her desire, and it does nothing but turn the blonde on a little more. 'And a little goes a long way because I was turned on a lot before,' she thinks as she takes off her jacket and puts it on the back of the desk chair. She reaches out and gently grabs onto Faith's jacket and slowly peels it off her body. She drops it on the chair, and leads Faith over to the bed.

"No, no, no," Buffy says with a playful smile when Faith tries to wrap her arms around her waist. "You just sit back and relax." She gently pushes down on Faith's shoulders until the brunette relents and sits down on the edge of the bed. Buffy leans down and leaves a long, heated kiss on her fiancé's lips. When she pulls back they both have little smiles on their faces. She walks over to her dresser and turns on the stereo.

"You gonna give me a strip tease?" Faith asks with a little amusement. "'Cause in all honesty I think I'd rather have a lap dance." Buffy rolls her eyes, and chuckles a little. As she walks closer she puts an extra sway into her hips, and she can't help but smile when she sees Faith cock her head to the side. 'She does that when she's curious about something. She probably thinks I'm going to do a strip tease. Sorry Faithy but that's too embarrassing.' She straddles Faith's lap, and wraps her arms around her neck.

"No, I'm not going to do that stuff, but I think you'll find what I am going to do is much, much better." She kisses Faith, and while they kiss she gently pulls the brunette's shirt up. They only separate for a split second so Buffy can take Faith's shirt off. "I had a feeling you weren't wearing a bra tonight." She has a hint of amusement in her voice and a glint of mischief in her eyes. She palms Faith's left breast and she smiles when the nipple instantly hardens. "Feeling a little turned on?"

"You know it," she says with a little smile. They kiss softly, and the brunette gently rubs Buffy's back, and lifts her shirt over her head. They start kissing more passionately, and Faith pulls the other girl against her. Their bodies touch in all the right places, and Buffy can't help but moan a very deep moan. Faith pulls back from the kiss and she has a smirk on her face. "Feeling a little turned on?" All Buffy can do is nod as Faith starts to leave warm, wet kisses on the side of her neck. But when she tries to take off Buffy's bra, the blonde tenses up, and puts her hands on Faith's shoulders.

"Huh-uh. Tonight we're doing this a little different," she says and looks into the other girl's deep chocolate orbs. 'Would you stop describing them like that? Every time you do I start to get a little hungry.' All the better for eating Faith. 'What, is this a sexy version of Little Red Riding Hood? Do you see me wearing a cape? No, because I'm not a super striper like that girl.' "You're always taking care of me." She gets a large, sultry smile on her face as she thinks of all the different ways Faith takes care of her. "And tonight I'm going to return the favor."

"B, you don't have to do that," Faith says and allows herself to be pushed backwards onto the bed. "If you wanna I'm not gonna stop ya, but you don't have to." They both get big smiles on their faces, and the blonde rolls her eyes a little. She leans down and kisses Faith on the collarbone, and runs the tip of her tongue over the heated flesh. She smiles a little bit when she feels Faith reach down and try to pull up her shirt. She gently grabs onto Faith's hands and pins them above her head.

"No. Tonight you get to lay back and enjoy," she says and looks deeply into the dark brown eyes staring back at her with a very intense gaze. 'I love it when she looks at me like that,' she thinks, and places a little kiss on the tip of Faith's nose. Faith tries to pull her hands away, but Buffy tightens her grip. "Baby, those hands better not move or we're going to stop." The brunette isn't too sure what to make of it. Buffy's never acted like this before, but when the blonde raises a challenging eyebrow she knows she's serious and should just listen.

"Just lay back and relax, ok?" Buffy whispers against Faith's lips. The brunette responds by softly kissing the slightly swollen lips, and relaxing as much as she can. The need to be on top is fighting to come to the surface, but she's doing her best to ignore it. She loves Buffy, she trusts her, so there's no reason why she shouldn't give up the control every once in a while. Buffy slowly kisses her way down Faith's neck. She knows all of Faith's sweet spots and the one she's focusing her attention on is right above her collar bone.

"You can't tell me no touching, and then tease me like that. It's not fair," the brunette complains and wraps her arms around the blonde's back. Buffy smiles against the heated skin, and nips the little spot. 'I swear sometimes she's so cute I just wanna eat her up. And yes that's exactly what I'm going to do. At least I will in a little while. I wanna see her squirm first.'

"Babe, you do that to me all the time," Buffy says, and lifts herself up enough to look into Faith's eyes. "Don't worry. I'm not going to leave you hanging. The longer it takes the better it'll be, right?" Buffy smiles a slightly evil smile as she throws the brunette's words back at her. This night isn't just about pleasuring her girlfriend to the brink of euphoria and then sending her there, it's also about paying her back for all the times she's done it to Buffy. Especially all of the times she teased the blonde to the brink of insanity.

"Right," Faith says and a shiver runs up her spine at the look on Buffy's face. She's never seen the blonde act like this before. Sure sometimes she acts a little…dominate but she'll eventually give into what the brunette wants. Now she's outright said it's her way or the highway and to be honest it's turning Faith on more then she already is. Buffy goes back to teasing Faith's collarbone and the brunette does her best to keep her hands where Buffy wants them. In an effort to do just that she grabs onto the blanket and holds on as tight as she can.

Buffy very slowly works her way down from Faith's collarbone to the top of her right breast. She gently nips, and lightly licks at the warm, creamy skin and she smiles when she sees the lover's flush forming on Faith's chest. 'I love it when she does that,' the tiny blonde thinks. 'It only happens when she's really turned on.' She continues her assault on the brunette's breast, giving her affections to everything but the rock hard nipple that's begging for attention.

She runs her tongue over the tip of the dusky peek, and gently blows on the moistened skin. Faith moans, and arches her back trying to push herself closer to the other girl. Buffy gives in to what Faith wants, and takes the nipple in her mouth. She softly suckles on the heated flesh, and smiles a little when she hears the sighs, and moans coming from the other girl. She pulls back a little when she feels Faith's fingers tangle themselves in her silky hair. She lets go of the nipple completely and leaves a soft kiss in the valley between the ample breasts.

"I should stop considering you're breaking the rules," she says with a little smile on her slightly swollen lips. "I mean, all I said was not to move your hands." She leaves another kiss a little higher up. "And here you are moving your hands around." She kisses the little dip in Faith's throat, and gently runs her tongue up her throat and leaves little feather light kisses along the brunette's jaw bone.

"Come on, babe, you know I don't like followin rules. You can't stop now." 'She sounds like she's in pain or something,' the blonde thinks with an evil smile on her face. She leaves a little peck on the brunette's lips and before Faith can say another word she gets up and sits on the foot of the bed. She pulls the brunette's right foot into her lap and starts to slowly untie the boot. "Want some help? What is it people are always sayin 'team work works better' or some shit like that?" The blonde giggles as she slips off the boot and drops it to the floor.

"You have such a way with words. I don't know how I was able to resist you for so long." She pulls the girl's other foot into her lap, and starts untying that boot. She turns a little so she can look up at the brunette and the look of pure desire and need on Faith's face causes the blonde to heat up. Little drops of sweat start to form along her hair line, and she takes in a shaky breath. 'All she has to do is look at me and I start to melt. And I mean that almost literally.' When the other boot is off and on the floor she pulls off the black socks and smiles a little as Faith wiggles her toes.

"You gonna give me a foot rub?" Faith asks with a teasing tone. Buffy rolls her eyes and drops the foot onto the bed. She crawls her way up the bed and sits by the brunette's waist. The looks into the warm brown eyes of her lover and smiles a little. 'My lover, I have to say I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that,' she thinks and lightly runs her fingertips over the toned stomach of the girl lying before her.

"No. I am going to rub something though, and I'm sure you'll like it a whole lot better," she gets a sly smile on her face and slowly unbuttons Faith's pants. As she slowly pulls the zipper down she says, "Now you hold onto those headboards and don't let go. I mean it when I said no touching, and I will stop if you do." She looks into Faith's eyes, and the brunette doesn't really take her seriously. But then she sees the intense look into Buffy's eyes and she knows she's serious.

"I think we need to buy you some handcuffs," she says with a big grin on her face. Buffy lets her mind wonder for a few seconds as she imagines the sexy brunette, completely naked and handcuffed to the bed, powerless do to anything but lay there and take whatever Buffy has to offer. She smiles and slightly nods her head yes. Faith lets out a gasp of mock-shock. 'Ha, that rhymed.' "You naughty little girl. Should I pick up some paddles too, and a whip to go with it?" Buffy rolls her eyes and sticks her hand in Faith's pants.

"I think just the handcuffs would work just fine," she says and rolls Faith's clitoris between two of her fingers. The teasing look on Faith's face disappears, and is replaced with one of surprise and pleasure. Her voice drops to a whisper as she says, "I think it's time to stop talking." Faith nods her head and her hips buck when Buffy rubs her clit again. The blonde pulls her hand out of the brunette's pants, and can't help but smile at the little groan of protest from Faith.

She slowly slips the waistband of Faith's jeans down, and the other girl lifts her hips to help her out. She pulls the offending clothing off the silky skin and her mouth waters a little as the rest of Faith is exposed to her. She drops the pants to the ground and stands up to take off the rest of her clothing. She tries not to blush as Faith watches her undress. The look on Faith's face tells her exactly how much the other girl wants her, and it sends a shiver up her spine.

She crawls back on the bed, and hovers over the other girl. To her amusement Faith is gripping onto the headboard so hard her knuckles are turning white. The blonde leans down, and kisses the other girl with all the passion in her body. She sighs into Faith's mouth when the brunette kisses her back with just as much vigor. She pulls back, ending the kiss to take in a deep breath. She kisses a hot trail down Faith's jaw bone, and her hands wander to her breasts.

"B, I need you in me," the brunette moans into Buffy's ear. Buffy shivers at the feel of the hot words whispers against her heated skin. She kisses her way down the same trail her fingers had taken, and takes one of Faith's hard peaks into her mouth. She hisses in a deep breath when she feels Faith's hot, dripping center rub against her abdomen in search from some friction. Without releasing the nipple from her mouth, the blonde slowly brushes her fingers down the brunette's stomach, and the closer she gets to where she's needed most the slower her hand goes.

"Babe, please," Faith says in a begging sort of way. Buffy gives in and quickly enters her lover with two fingers. A long, loud moan escapes the brunette's throat and the blonde kisses her to try and muffle the sound. Faith knows they need to be quiet so they won't wake anyone else in the house, but at the same time he isn't sure if she'll be able to hold back. It's been so long since the two have done anything sexual other then kiss.

She bucks her hips against the fingers thrusting in and out of her. She tries to speed up the rhythm, but the blonde is determined to do this her way. She fights Buffy's grip, but she quickly gives up. She lets go of everything that's holding her back from just being. She let's go of the control issues, and she let's someone else be in charge for the first time, at least that she can remember. One hand wanders down from its spot on the headboard and grasps onto Buffy's free hand. She looks deeply into the hazel eyes hovering above her and she cuts the final string of the baggage she's been gripping onto since childhood.

"Right there," Faith calls out when Buffy hits her g-spot. Buffy kisses her in an attempt to muffle the loud moans now coming nonstop from Faith's throat. Faith can only kiss her back for a few seconds because the need to breathe is too great at the moment. Then Buffy does something unexpected that she's never done before. She curls her fingers upwards and presses hard against Faith and that catapults her over the edge. "Oh fuck yes! Buffy! Buffy! Buffy!" She screams as her hot, sticky come gushes out all over Buffy's hand.

The blonde smiles and leaves little kisses all over the brunette's face as she rides out the high she's feeling. 'She's so beautiful when she comes,' she thinks and smiles. She slowly pulls her fingers out of the woman she loves and lays down next to Faith. She wraps an arm around her and snuggles in very close. She listens as the brunette's breathing goes from shallow and labored, to a more normal speed. She leaves a little kiss on her shoulder, and looks into Faith's dark eyes.

"Babe, let's sleep, ok?" the blonde says when Faith yawns widely. She kisses her on the lips to silence any protests. "It's late. We can continue this tomorrow, ok?" She pulls the blankets over them and snuggles in as close to Faith as possible. 'I can't wait until we live together. We're going to fall asleep like this every night. We'll probably fall asleep like this every night anyway. Just because I have to live on campus doesn't mean I have to sleep there. What are they going to do, lock my dorm room door and throw away the key? Everything is going to be perfect from now on.'


	10. My Morning Of Bliss

The following morning finds the two love birds wrapped up in the tangled sheets and blankets on the bed. The sun is warmly shining in through the bedroom window, heating the exposed skin of the two teenagers. Buffy is still slumbering, but Faith is wide awake. Propped up on one elbow, and completely comfortable she's watching the little blonde sleep. Not in a creepy sociopath type of way, but in the romantic I-can't-believe-this-person-is-in-my-life type of way.

Faith smiles a very happy smile, and glances out the window. It's nine thirty in the morning so most of the neighbors are up. She can hear the sound of a lawnmower in the distance, and little kids playing down the street. She can also hear birds chirping, and dogs barking. All of the feelings she's getting right now are a little confusing because she's never had them before except for once or twice in the past, but that doesn't make it any better. Even though she's confused she's very happy.

"Babe," she says and gently rubs Buffy on the back. The blonde is sleeping face down with her head turned away from Faith. She gently shakes Buffy's shoulder and the blonde starts to stir. "Wake up, B." She smiles even wider when she hears her fiancé let out a very annoyed sounding groan. "Come on, Buffy, it's morning. It's time to wake up and join the awake people." Buffy turns her head so she can open her eyes to barely a squint and look at Faith.

"No. Time to sleep. Sun go away," she says in a sleep roughened voice and pulls her pillow over her head. Under the pillow it's hard and a little quieter. 'When did I open the window? Why did I do that?' she thinks and groans again when she hears someone walking around in the hallway. 'Why can't everyone just stay in bed and leave me alone while I try to sleep?' she thinks and groans yet again when she feels Faith kissing her back. But this is a good kind of groan.

"Come on, babe," Faith says with a slight whine to her voice. Buffy can't help but smile and roll her eyes. 'Does it count even though my eyes are closed?' "I wanna make you breakfast." 'Is this what it's going to be like when we're living together? Are we going to make very hot, passionate love almost every night and then she'll make breakfast in the morning? 'Cause if that's what happens then I'll marry her right now.' She puts her head back on top of the pillow and turns on her back so she can look up at Faith.

"You know what's even sweeter?" Buffy asks in a way too innocent voice and Faith gives her questioning look. "Breakfast in bed." She gets a sly smile on her face and Faith grabs her pillow and hits her over the head with it. Even though it was only a pillow, and Faith was being playful so it barely touched her, she can't help but go for the dramatics since that's what she does best. "Ow, what was that for?" She pouts a really big pout and watches as Faith chuckles and sits up in the bed. The sheets and blanket pool around her waist and Buffy's eyes light up when she sees her exposed chest.

"I wanna make breakfast together. Come on, you've got five minutes to get up, and get some pajamas on or I'm gonna flip this mattress." 'Yeah right, she'd never do that,' she thinks with confidence but she looks a little unsure. 'I just wanna stay in this warm bed all day.' She rolls over onto her stomach and puts her head under her pillow again. She yelps when Faith smacks her on the ass. "I mean it, blondie, let's go make us some breakfast." Reluctantly, she gets up and walks over to the dresser. She pulls out two pairs of silk pajama bottoms and then two slightly oversized t-shirts. She bought them especially for when Faith spends the night.

She looks over at Faith as the slightly taller brunette gets dressed. She has a little admiring smile as she thinks about what happened the night before. 'Last night was just so…she gave up all of her control and she's never done that before. I know she's never said anything about it but it's basic psychology that kids who grow up in the foster system have control issues when they get older. Faith has to be in control at least a little bit of everything, but last night she gave all that up to me.'

Buffy gets a little…emotional and walks over to Faith. She wraps her arms around Faith's neck and kisses her gently on the mouth. Which, if you ask me, is pretty gross since they haven't brushed their teeth yet. 'But no one asked you, so back off'. The somewhat rude blonde, pulls back from the kiss and looks into Faith's dark, warm eyes. They smile at each other and for them it feels like minutes, but it's only a few seconds.

"What was that for, B?" Faith asks and runs her fingers through Buffy's bottled blonde hair. It isn't silky at the moment. Things got pretty sweaty last night, so her hair is a little matted, and definitely not silky. 'Hey, are you making fun of my hair.' No. If I were making fun of your hair I'd talk about all the different ways it's sticking out in the back. Rats make nicer looking nests. 'One of these days I'm going to kill you.' I'm a narrator, I don't have a body you idiot.

"For last night," Buffy says and smiles a little bit. She tries to think of a way to word her feelings but she can't think of any. She looks down at Faith's soft lips for a few seconds. She's tempted to end the conversation with a heated kiss that will distract both of them into forgetting about the talking, but she knows that would be wrong. That it wouldn't do this moment any justice. "Last night was so….I just wanted to thank you for it." Faith gets another smile on her face, and gently rubs the blonde's back.

"You didn't get yours, B. At least not yet. I should be the one thanking you." She wiggles her eyebrows a little and kisses her blonde softly on the lips. The kiss is sweet, and not meant to go further then that. Both know they can't have a repeat performance because the other two Summers' women are awake and just downstairs. If Dawn were to walk in on them Joyce would freak and possibly behead one, or both of them. The kiss ends, and Buffy has a sweet little smile on her face.

"No, Faith, I should be thanking you. What you did last night, the way you trusted me…no one's ever trusted me like that before with anything. I just…I love you so much, and I really think this is going to work." She gently caresses Faith's cheek and they kiss again. It stays chaste, and ends in forty seconds. "Now, why don't we go downstairs, and you can make me some breakfast women." They both smile and Buffy gives Faith a little smack on the ass.

"I don't think I like this new side of you. Only one person can wear the pants in a relationship." 'Yeah, and I'm the one who wears them," Buffy thinks and leaves a little kiss on the tip of Faith's nose. They head downstairs and head straight for the kitchen. Both Joyce and Dawn are dressed and ready for the day. Faith looks very uncomfortable as soon as she walks in the room. Especially with the way Joyce is looking at her and trying not to smile. Faith avoids eye contact, and walks over to the cupboards.

"Good morning Joyce, Dawn," she says and looks even more uncomfortable when even Dawn is trying really hard not to smile. She takes a deep breath and remembers why she had decided a long time ago not to have sex with Buffy at her house while the others are home. 'So much for that,' she thinks, and looks over at her blonde. "So B, what do you wanna eat?" Buffy can see what's going on between her fiancé and her mother and sister. She would try to do something to get the attention off of Faith but she's having too much fun watching the normally very relaxed brunette squirm a little.

"Can you make a cheese omelet?" she asks and smiles when Faith nods her head. She sits down at the center island, and yawns out the last trace of sleepiness. She's had Faith's cooking before and it's not very good. It isn't totally disgusting, but you can tell with the first taste that she doesn't spend a lot of time in the kitchen. 'But it isn't all about how good it is. She's making something for me, and she puts a lot of effort into it. That's what counts,' she thinks and watches as Faith goes to the fridge and starts rummaging through it.

"So, did you two have fun last night?" Joyce asks, and Buffy's eyes widen twice their normal size and she completely tenses up. 'Why the hell would she ask that?' the younger blonde thinks and tries really hard not to panic. "How was the movie, any good?" 'Oh thank God. She was talking about the date.' She really wasn't. She's just messing with you. 'Don't you have anyone else to stalk?' Stalk is such a strong word. I prefer observer.

"The movie sucked big time. I definitely won't be seeing that again, even when it comes out on DVD." She says that now but in the next few months she'll see it on the rack at the video store under 'new releases' and take it home like she's never heard of it before. 'Why are you such an ass all the time? Your dad never hugged you, did he?' What are you, a therapist? My childhood is none of your damn business. 'One good thing about the movie though, was it was nice and dark in the theater so no one saw us making out. At least I don't think they saw.'

"Wow, Faith, that's pretty impressive," Buffy hears her mother say and it snaps her back to reality. She looks over at her fiancé and sees that she's still cooking the omelet. 'Ok, so what's so impressive? I missed something cool didn't I?' "I can never get my omelets to fold just right. They always come out uneven. I gave up trying to get it right a long time ago." The brunette chuckles a little bit and turns the heat on the stove down just a tad. She turns around and there's a big smirk on her face.

"Thanks. I can't really cook." 'I'll second that,' Buffy thinks and tries to hide her own smirk. "But I kick ass at makin breakfast." 'Really?' She starts to think back on all of the times Faith has cooked for her. 'Once she tried making me dinner, and that was pretty…awful. She's made me lunch a couple of times and it was ok. The sandwich was pretty good. It would've been better if the mustard wasn't two months passed the expiration date. But she's never made me breakfast before. We've never really had the chance to. Whenever we've slept together at night and actually got to wake up together we were at a hotel so we just ordered room service.'

"Well, you're very multi-talented, aren't you?" Joyce asks and Faith gets a very sly smile on her face. 'I recognize that smile,' Buffy thinks and glares a little at Faith. The brunette wants to fight the playfulness inside of her, but she can't. It's not in her nature to back down from something so easy, especially when the person walks right into the joke like Joyce has.

"Oh, you have no idea," the brunette replies with a little wink. Then she turns around and focuses her attention on Buffy's breakfast. The brunette's better half makes a face, but doesn't say anything. She really doesn't want to talk about what just happened because of the ick factor. The littlest Summers, however, makes a gagging noise and all eyes go on her, which is exactly what she wanted.

"Are you flirting with my mom? That's so gross," she says, and just to give her melodramatic performance a little something extra, she shivers and her body quakes from the effort. "And your fiancé is sitting right here. She saw what you did. I don't know why she's being quiet about it." She takes another bite of her sugar coated cereal, and waits for a reply. The one thing she really likes about having Faith over is she always has something to say. She doesn't just shrug the preteen off like Buffy's other friends.

"Hey, I'm just statin facts. I haven't said anything your big sis doesn't already know." Everyone in the room, except Faith, gets very uncomfortable after that sentence is said. Buffy tenses up, and sits up a little straighter on the stool. She doesn't make eye contact with anyone because she really doesn't want to see the looks they're probably giving her right now.

"Faith, there's a line and you just crossed it." She watches as Faith uses the spatula to put the omelet on a plate and she smiles at Buffy's words. No one can see her smile since her back is turned to them, but that's ok with her. Buffy doesn't take her eyes off Faith as she walks across the small space, and gets a fork from the drawer. Then she walks over to the blonde and sets down the plate and utensil in front of her.

"I know, and it was fun," she says and kisses Buffy on the lips. Both of them forget that they have an audience, and the kiss lingers longer then it normally would have. They pull back when they hear a clattering sound, and Buffy blushes at the looks she's receiving from her mother and younger sister.

"Ok, now I can't eat. Do you guys have to be so…nauseating all the time?" Dawn asks and gets up from the stool. She goes into the living room and turns on the TV. 'I wonder what that was all about. It's like she's never seen two people kiss before. Oh well, her not finishing her Coco Puffs isn't my problem, so I'm not going to worry about it. Mmmm, this omelet looks really good. I think Faith needs to make breakfast for me more often 'cause this smells really yummy.' She takes a small bite not sure what to expect and she smiles up at her fiancé.

"You're right, you do kick ass at breakfast. You should spend the night more often," she says and wiggles her eyebrows for good measure. Faith just smiles and gives her another kiss. Buffy goes back to eating, and every once in a while will let out a moan of appreciation. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Faith sit down next to her, and then she feels the slightly taller girl wrap an arm around her lower back. She looks over at her with a little confusion. "You're not going to make one for yourself?"

"Nah. That was the last of the cheese. Besides, I'm not that hungry," she says and gently rubs Buffy's back. "I'll get something later at Bill and Judy's." 'I wish she didn't have to go. We're going to be leaving Sunnydale soon, and I think we should spend as much time together as possible because once school starts I'm not going to be seeing her very often. I wish she had focused more on her grades instead of messing around so she could've gotten into Northwestern too.'

"Here, baby, have some of mine," she says and cuts off a piece of her breakfast. She stabs it with the fork and holds the steaming piece of egg, cheese, ham, and parsley about an inch away from her mouth. Then her soft pink lips pucker up and she gently blows. Faith's eyes dilate a little bit as she watches Buffy do this. She never knew watching a hot blonde cool down food could be so…sexy. Faith gets a little grin on her face, and puts on her own show. She wraps her lips around the fork, and very slowly pulls back, looking Buffy in the eyes the entire time. Then she starts to slowly chew, and smiles again when the blonde licks her lips.

"Dawn's right. You two are nauseating. No one should be as happy as you are. It goes against the laws of nature," Joyce says and picks up her coffee mug before she starts to leave the room.

"Finally someone agrees with me!" they hear Dawn yell from the other room. The two just look at each other and shrug, and continue enjoying the wonderful morning.


	11. My Goodbyes

Today is the day that the star of the story has been looking forward to for the last couple of weeks. Today is the day they're leaving Sunnydale and heading off for Northwestern University. Buffy woke up very early this morning at the ungodly hour of seven thirty. She pouted for a while because it was the first morning in the last couple of weeks when Faith wasn't with her. Her better half stayed the night at her foster parents' house for one last dinner with the people she'll always consider family.

After she moped for a good fifteen minutes she got up and took a shower, and got dressed in a casual outfit. Since they're going to be in the truck for so long she went for complete comfort. Nothing about the t-shirt-jeans-sneakers combo is for looks. After applying a little make up she packed what little belongings were left in her room and put them in the duffle bag. She got a little nostalgic as she stood in the doorway of her bedroom. She thought of all the good times she had in there.

'I remember when Faith got all Romeo on me and climbed up to my window because she needed to see me. Then we got caught making out and Mom grounded me for like two months, which was so unfair! I didn't know Faith was going to show up like that, and it would've been totally rude to make her leave. I kind of wish we had waited until after the summer ended to have sex. Then it would've happened here. Then again probably not because Mom would've paid Dawn to spy on me or something.

And I remember lying on the bed just holding hands. We would stare up at the ceiling and just talk for hours about nothing in particular. And then I asked if she ever wanted to have kids and she almost choked on her own spit. Now that was really funny. I think I'll mention kids a little more often just to see what she does. I mean, we're going to have a life together and eventually I do want a little hoodlum running around causing trouble. Those were some good times.'

Then she ate breakfast with her family and had to fight back the tears when her mother started to cry. Although if you ask me they were tears of joy at the thought of the annoying blonde finally leaving the house. 'Would you shut up? This is a really important day for me and you're totally ruining it with your bad attitude. Can't you just be happy for once in your life?' When you die I'll be happy. 'I can't believe you sometimes. Maybe you should go to a therapist or something. It's obvious you have a lot of issues. Sometimes you can be so ugly.' Your face is ugly. Ohhhhhhhh, burn.

"Honey, is everything alright?" she hears her mother ask, and the sound of her voice snaps the little blonde back into reality. "You've been a little spacey this morning. Do you need to go lie down for a while? Because there's nothing wrong with staying for an hour to two longer then you plan." She smiles a little bit at the way her mom is acting. 'See, she wants me to stay. She's trying to find an excuse for me to stay longer.'

"Thanks, Mom, but I'm fine. Today is just such a big day and it's hard to wrap my brain around." Well if you had a brain it would probably be a little easier. "I'm sure once Faith gets here it'll be a little better." Buffy and her mom are going over a list of things that the blonde will need when she reaches the campus. There isn't enough room in Faith's truck to pack more then what she already has and new supplies for the dorm will be needed. "I don't know about this one, Mom. Do I really need a new table lamp?" The list isn't very long but this isn't so much about the list as it is spending some last minute mother-daughter time together.

"Yes, Buffy you do. There isn't room for the one you have, and your roommate might not bring one. And you'll need a brightly lit desk for when you study for all of your classes." 'Oh yeah, 'cause that's going to be so much fun.' "You'll probably be too busy keeping up on your schoolwork to go partying. And if you do party you'll be responsible. No drinking, or taking any drugs."

"Of course not. You're right, I'll be too busy doing my work to go partying." The older blonde doesn't look very convinced. She sighs a little bit and rubs her forehead. She's been debating with herself all morning on just how much wisdom to pass on to the younger Summers. She doesn't want to encourage her daughter to misbehave but she doesn't want her going in blind, either.

"Well, just remember that for every drink you don't have, drink two glasses of water, and take some aspirin before you go to bed. And if you need to get sick, from all of the alcohol you didn't have, don't fight it or it'll just be worst." 'Wow, she's actually telling me this isn't she?' Buffy asks, and raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Never eat chips from a communal bowl because you never know who else has stuck their hand inside. And remember, never take your purse. Put your id in your back pocket, along with a little cash, but don't ever take your purse with you because you might lose it, and it'll be impossible to get back." 'Wow, this is actually pretty good advice.'

"Ok, no purse. Got it," she says with a little smile. She looks into her mothers smiling eyes and the two have a little moment. 'I just realized I'm going to be too far away to see my mom when I need to. I know for the most part I'm grown up, but sometimes I still need to talk to my mom. Maybe I should have stayed here and gone to UC Sunnydale. It's a pretty good school, and it's close to here. Faith would've been able to stay here to see her foster family. Maybe going to Northwestern will do more harm then good.'

"And I know you don't like confrontation, but don't be passive aggressive with your roommate. If she's doing something that bothers you just sit down and talk with her about it like adults. Don't leave little notes like 'Buffy's food Do Not Eat', because that will only make the situation worst." 'Ok that sounded really silly but I can see where she's coming from.' The little blonde nods her head and lets out a tiny sad sigh. "Oh sweetie, everything is going to be ok." She smiles a little when her mother gently lays a hand on her cheek. "Once you get used to everything it won't be so scary."

"Kind of like high school, right?" I ask and she nods her head. 'Only in high school you get to go home after a long day of dealing with teachers and other kids. But this is college, not high school. All of the drama of cliques and sitting at the 'cool' table is long gone. I'm going to make some friends that I have a lot in common with and they'll be cool with my relationship with Faith. And who knows, maybe they'll be a little older and know where all the good parties are. I think Faith would like that a lot,' she thinks and jumps up when she hears the doorbell ring.

She runs to the door and just beats Dawn from answering it herself. 'What is with her? I swear, she has a crush on Faith, she just doesn't want to admit it,' she thinks and glares at her little sister and then opens the door with a big smile on her face. The smile gets a little bigger when she sees Faith standing there with a single white rose. 'Ahhh, she's so sweet it's almost scary.' She steps out onto the porch and gives the brunette a big hug. Now that her better half is here she's feels a little less nervous a lot more excited.

"Hey baby, what took you so long to get here? I thought you said you would pick me up at nine-thirty?" she asks with a little pout on her face. The pout disappears when Faith kisses her. It's a pretty chaste kiss compared to some of the others that they've shared, but since Dawn is standing there watching them Faith doesn't want to take it too far. She knows how noisy Buffy can get when she's really enjoying herself. When they pull back from the kiss the blonde has a little smile on her face. "Is that for me?" She looks down at the flower with a hopeful look on her face.

"Sorry babe, but no. It's for your mom." Buffy gives her a weird look and Faith just sighs a little bit. "Do I have to explain this to everyone?" Buffy just nods her head, and then smiles at her fiancé's irritated look. "I figured since I'm runnin off with her oldest daughter, her precious little baby girl." That part is said in a baby-ish tone and it makes Buffy chuckle a little bit. "That I'd buy her a white rose as, like a symbol of truce. Giving her a white flag woulda been a little weird. And come on, who doesn't love getting flowers?"

"That's true," Buffy says and she gets a really sappy smile on her face. "You're just so damn sweet sometimes, I just wanna eat you up." She wiggles her eyebrows a little bit and they both chuckle a little bit. The laughter stops when they hear Dawn making a gagging noise behind them. "I didn't mean it like that." Yes you did. 'Ok, I did but she doesn't need to know that.' But she already knows. She made a noise suggesting what you and Faith do in the bedroom grosses her out. That means she knows. 'Oh just stop up. You're so annoying.'

"So did you wanna hang out for a little while longer or just hit the road?" the brunette asks and Buffy is suddenly hit with the reality that this is the last time she'll be at her mom's house. At least until November when she comes back for Thanksgiving. Faith can see the worry all over her face and she's quick to comfort her. "Don't worry, B. You're gonna be too busy falling asleep in class, and studying your ass off to be thinkin about how much you miss home."

"Yeah Buffy," Dawns says and then gets a sly grin on her face. "Besides it wouldn't hurt if you lost some of your ass." Her older sister whips around and gives her a death glare. That only makes the preteen laugh with evil joy. "What? It's not my fault you haven't done anything lately except sit around and eat junk food all day." It's true, she has put on a little weight stressing about what college life is going to be like. When Buffy starts to pout Faith is quick to jump in.

"Don't listen to her B. You're perfect," she says and gently wraps her arms around the shorter girl's waist. She lets her freehand slip down and she firmly cups the blonde's slightly bigger ass. She leans in so she can whisper into her ear. "Besides I like that it's bigger. It gives me something to hold onto when we trib." She chuckles at Buffy's blush and the littlest Summers gets a look of confusion on her face.

"You just said something about sex, didn't you?" Before either teen can reply the matriarch of the house shows up and she doesn't look too happy at what her twelve-year-old just said.

"Faith," she says and crosses her arms over her chest. "We were wondering when you were going to show up." She raises an eyebrow, and watches as Faith squirms a little bit. She really has no problem with Faith. Especially since she's been able to see how much the girl really does care for her daughter. She just likes taking her down a peg or two since she's always been very cocky.

"Yeah, I woulda been here on time, but things at Bill and Judy's got a little emotional. Tanner didn't want me to leave. Took Bill and Marcus both to pry him off my leg." She smiles a little bit at the memory of saying goodbye to her family. She never really thought they cared about her that much. Being in the foster system has taught her not to trust when people say they love her, or care about her. 'Because it's just something adults say so you'll trust them. Most of them don't really mean it.' "Here," she says and holds out the flower. "I got that for you."

"Oh it's lovely. Thank you, dear. Not that I mind, but what's the occasion?" Joyce asks and brings the very pretty flower up to her nose and she gives it a little whiff. She smiles at the musky smell and she watches as the brunette blushes about two shades of red. 'The only time I've seen her blush that hard when was I caught her with her hand down Buffy's pants.' She smiles a little more because Faith blushing is always a cute thing to see.

"It's sort of a peace offerin. We haven't always gotten along, and I don't wanna leave if there's any bad blood between us." The older woman looks a little surprised at Faith's maturity since the teenage girl is always joking around at every chance she gets. It's very rare to see her like this, that's for sure. "Plus I'm gonna be comin back with B durin the holidays and I was hopin I'd be able to stay here." She looks a little nervous on this one. She's spent the last couple of weeks here at Buffy's but the other day Joyce walked in on the two of them during a quickie and now she's not so sure if she'll be allowed inside.

"Of course Faith," Joyce says with a small smile. "You're always welcome to stay on the couch." She chuckles a little bit at the dejected look on both of the girls' faces, and she rolls her eyes a little bit. "You two are so gullible. I'm only teasing dear. Just as long as you keep your..." she pauses a moment to figure out exactly how to word this with a twelve-year-old standing next to her. "Affection for each other in the bedroom instead of in my kitchen I have no problem with you staying here."

"Ewww! You guys had sex in the kitchen? I'm never eating in there again." Joyce and Faith laugh at that, but Buffy looks very uncomfortable. 'I don't want my little sister knowing stuff like that. It isn't right. It's bad enough my mom walked in on it. I knew we shouldn't have done it. It's all Faith's fault.' Excuse me? It was your idea. 'No it wasn't. I wanted to go upstairs where there's a nice lock on the door.' No, that was Faith's idea. You didn't want to wait. 'Whatever you're insane.' Do I need to cut to a flashback? Because I will.

"Just let me get my bag, and then we should get going," the little blonde says. "If we wait too much longer there might be a lot of traffic." She runs inside and grabs her duffle bag, and the list of things she'll need off the dining room table. She stuffs the list inside one of the pockets on the bag, and heads back outside. When she gets there she sees her mother standing on the porch with tears in her eyes. She instantly gets teary eyed, and wraps her mother in a huge hug.

"Be safe," she whispers and gives her daughter a kiss on the side of her head. "And remember to get good grades. I'm not paying a small fortune so you can party every night." She laughs a little bit and gives her mom a kiss on the cheek. After they pull back from the hug Joyce leaves a kiss on her baby girl's forehead. 'She's acting like I'm never coming back again,' she thinks and walks over to her little sister. She takes a moment to just look at the girl standing in front of her.

She notices the changes that have been happening over the last few weeks as nature has been taking its course. Her hips are starting to take shape, starting the formation of an hour glass figure. Her legs have gotten impossibly longer, and a training bra is needed for her budding breasts. 'Great, I'm leaving a cute little sister and when I get back she's going to be a bitchy teenager complete with pms and an obsession with boys. Why can't she just be little Dawnie? I like her just the way she is.' She pulls her sister into a big hug, and she smiles a little when the little brunette hugs her back just as tightly.

"Don't grow up too much while I'm gone, ok?" she says with a playful smile. Her smile gets a little bigger when she hears her baby sister sniffle. "Ahh, don't worry Dawnie. I'm going to write you letters all the time. And I'll make sure to call as much as I can, ok?" She gently rubs the younger girl's back. "Besides there is one really good thing to all of this that you're forgetting about." They pull back from the hug and Dawn wipes away the straying tears that are trying to escape down her cheeks.

"What's that?" she asks and sniffles again. The tip of her nose is turning really red and Buffy has to bite back the urge to call her Rudolph like she used to when they were younger. 'Wow, I was a mean big sister. Maybe that's why she's such a pest. Nah, I don't that's it. I think she was put on this planet just to annoy the hell out of me.'

"You can't read my diary when it's in Illinois." They both laugh a little at that. Buffy gives her one more hug and when they pull apart they walk down the walkway to Faith's truck. It still looks like a beat up piece of crap, but she's spent almost all of her money she's gained in the last couple of years fixing it up. There's no guarantee it'll get them all the way to Illinois but dammit they're going to try. When they reach the end of the walkway Buffy's mother hugs her yet again. The tears are gone, but are threatening to make another appearance.

"I love you," Joyce says and smiles when she hears her daughter say it back. She pulls back from the hug and gently brushes some of Buffy's hair out of her face. She leaves a kiss on her daughter's cheek and then opens the door for her. Buffy hops in and puts her bag behind the seat. The older woman then closes the truck door, and she looks over at Faith who's already sitting in the driver's seat. "Faith…" she starts, but she can't finish because of the lump in her throat.

"I know, Mrs. S. I'll take care of her," she says and starts up the truck. It comes to life with a loud roar like sound, and some of the neighbors' dogs start barking wildly for the interruption of their mid morning naps. "We'll see you guys in November." They all wave goodbye and Faith starts off down the road. She glances over at the blonde sitting next to her, and she can't help but smile at the little pout on her face. "Oh, come on, B. It's not like we're never comin back. Besides, girlfriend, you're a college girl now. College girls are all about the giddy joy, and flashing people with video cameras." Buffy starts laughing and Faith joins in.

"I guess you're right about the giddy joy part. It's time to just grow up and face reality. It's not like I was going to live there forever." 'Because if I want to start a family with Faith then we're going to need our own house. If we're going to learn to be quiet when we make love then we're going to need lots and lots of practice, that way we won't wake our children up. And it would be totally embarrassing to do all of that practicing with Mom and Dawn in the house because they could walk in on it. I think I'm going to like college after all.'


End file.
